Ice skate

Abstract

A blade holder for an ice skate (e.g., for playing hockey). The ice skate comprises a skate boot for receiving a foot of a skater. The blade holder comprises a blade-retaining base to retain a blade. The blade-retaining base comprises a first material (e.g., a non-composite polymeric material). The blade holder comprises a support extending upwardly from the blade-retaining base to interconnect the blade holder and the skate boot. The support comprises a second material (e.g., a composite material) different from (e.g., stiffer than) the first material.

Description

FIELD

The invention generally relates to ice skates, including their blade holder and their blade.

BACKGROUND

An ice skate includes a skate boot for receiving a skater's foot and a blade holder connecting a blade to the skate boot. Many different types of skate boots, blade holders and blades have been developed in order to provide skates which can accommodate different skating maneuvers as well as to provide certain benefits to skaters.

It is typically desirable from a skater's perspective to have a skate which is relatively lightweight. This is because heavier skates impose a larger physical burden during use and can incrementally result in tiring the skater.

While changes can be made to the skate boot itself, the skate boot can only be optimized to a certain point before reaching a substantial “plateau” in comfort, performance, production cost, etc. As such, it is important to also consider the design of the blade holder and the blade which can largely affect a skater's performance depending on the materials and design employed.

For these and/or other reasons, there is a need to improve ice skates, including their blade holder and/or their blade.

SUMMARY

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, there is provided a blade holder for an ice skate. The ice skate comprises a skate boot for receiving a foot of a skater. The blade holder comprises a blade-retaining base to retain a blade. The blade-retaining base comprises a first material. The blade holder comprises a support extending upwardly from the blade-retaining base to interconnect the blade holder and the skate boot. The support comprises a second material different from the first material.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a blade holder for an ice skate. The ice skate comprises a skate boot for receiving a foot of a skater. The blade holder comprises a blade-retaining base to retain a blade. The blade-retaining base comprises a non-composite material. The blade holder comprises a support extending upwardly from the blade-retaining base to interconnect the blade holder and the skate boot. The support comprises a composite material.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a blade holder for an ice skate. The ice skate comprises a skate boot for receiving a foot of a skater. The blade holder comprises a blade-retaining base to retain a blade. The blade-retaining base comprises a first material. The blade holder comprises a support extending upwardly from the blade-retaining base to interconnect the blade holder and the skate boot. The support comprises a second material stiffer than the first material.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a blade holder for an ice skate. The ice skate comprises a skate boot for receiving a foot of a skater. The blade holder comprises a blade-retaining base to retain a blade. The blade holder comprises a support extending upwardly from the blade-retaining base to interconnect the blade holder and the skate boot. At least part of the blade holder is made of a composite material and a ratio of a weight of the blade holder over a length of the blade holder is no more than 4.3 g/cm.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a blade holder for an ice skate. The ice skate comprises a skate boot for receiving a foot of a skater. The blade holder comprises a blade-retaining base to retain a blade. The blade-retaining base comprises a first material. The blade holder comprises a support extending upwardly from the blade-retaining base to interconnect the blade holder and the skate boot. The support comprises a second material different from the first material. The first material and the second material are mechanically interlocked.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a blade holder for an ice skate. The ice skate comprises a skate boot for receiving a foot of a skater. The blade holder comprises a blade-retaining base to retain a blade. The blade holder comprises a front pillar and a rear pillar extending upwardly from the blade-retaining base to interconnect the blade holder and the skate boot. Each of the front pillar and the rear pillar comprises: a wall defining a cavity and comprising a composite material; and a peripheral opening that leads to the cavity such that the cavity is exposed from an exterior of the skate when the blade holder is mounted to the skate boot.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a blade holder for an ice skate. The ice skate comprises a skate boot for receiving a foot of a skater. The blade holder comprises a blade-retaining base to retain a blade. The blade-retaining base comprises a first material. The blade holder comprises a support extending upwardly from the blade-retaining base to interconnect the blade holder and the skate boot. The support comprises a second material stiffer than the first material. The blade holder comprises a blade-detachment mechanism such that the blade is selectively detachable and removable from, and attachable to, the blade holder. The blade-detachment mechanism is disposed in a cavity defined by a wall at least partly made of the first material.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a blade holder for an ice skate. The ice skate comprises a skate boot for receiving a foot of a skater. The method comprises: providing a first material and a second material different from the first material; and processing the first material and the second material to form (i) a blade-retaining base to retain a blade and (ii) a support extending upwardly from the blade-retaining base to interconnect the blade holder and the skate boot. The blade-retaining base comprises the first material and the support comprises the second material.

These and other aspects of the invention will now become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following description of embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A detailed description of embodiments of the invention is provided below, by way of example only, with reference to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an example of an ice skate in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the ice skate, including a skate boot, a blade holder, and a blade of the ice skate;

FIGS. 3 to 8 are various views of the blade holder;

FIGS. 9 to 14 are various views of an upper component of the blade holder;

FIGS. 15 to 20 are various views of a lower component of the blade holder;

FIGS. 21A to 21C are partial cross-sectional views showing a blade-detachment mechanism of the blade holder;

FIGS. 22 to 26 show various views of different parts of the blade holder, including an interconnection of these different parts of the blade holder;

FIGS. 27 to 29 show examples of variants of an interconnection of different parts of the blade holder;

FIGS. 30 to 33 show examples of variants in which the blade holder may retain the blade;

FIGS. 34 and 35 show an example of a variant of the blade;

FIGS. 36 to 38 show examples of other shapes of the blade holder in other embodiments;

FIG. 39 shows an example of a variant of the upper component of the blade holder; and

FIGS. 40 and 41 are side and front views of a right foot of a wearer of the ice skate with an integument of the foot shown in dotted lines and bones shown in solid lines.

In the drawings, embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood that the description and drawings are only for purposes of illustration and as an aid to understanding, and are not intended to be a definition of the limits of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an example of an ice skate 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The ice skate 10 comprises a skate boot 11 for enclosing a skater's foot, a blade holder 28, and a blade 52 for contacting an ice surface on which the skater skates. In this embodiment, the ice skate 10 is a hockey skate designed for playing ice hockey. In other embodiments, the ice skate 10 may be designed for other types of skating activities.

As further discussed below, the ice skate 10, including the blade holder 28, is lightweight and may provide other performance benefits to the skater. For example, in this embodiment, the blade holder 28 is designed to optimize its weight and performance characteristics, including greater stiffness in certain areas (e.g., front and heel areas) and greater feel and control in other areas (e.g., along an interface with the blade 52). For instance, in this embodiment, the blade holder 28 comprises an arrangement of different materials (e.g., a composite material and a polymeric material) that differ in stiffness and density and are strategically distributed in the blade holder 28.

The skate boot 11 defines a cavity 26 for receiving the skater's foot. With additional reference to FIGS. 40 and 41, the skater's foot includes toes T, a ball B, an arch ARC, a plantar surface PS, a top surface TS, a medial side MS and a lateral side LS. The top surface TS of the skater's foot is continuous with a lower portion of the skater's shin S. In addition, the skater has a heel H, an Achilles tendon AT, and an ankle A having a medial malleolus MM and a lateral malleolus LM that is at a lower position than the medial malleolus MM. The Achilles tendon AT has an upper part UP and a lower part LP projecting outwardly with relation to the upper part UP and merging with the heel H. A forefoot of the skater includes the toes T and the ball B, a hindfoot of the skater includes the heel H, and a midfoot of the skater is between the forefoot and midfoot.

In this embodiment, the skate boot 11 comprises a front portion 17 for receiving the toes T of the skater's foot, a rear portion 19 for receiving the heel H of the skater's foot, and an intermediate portion 21 between the front portion 17 and the rear portion 19.

More particularly, in this embodiment, the skate boot 11 comprises an outer shell 12, a toe cap 14 for facing the toes T, a tongue 16 extending upwardly and rearwardly from the toe cap 14 for covering the top surface TS of the skater's foot, a rigid insert 18 for providing more rigidity around the ankle A and the heel H of the skater's foot, an inner lining 20, a footbed 22, and an insole 24. The skate boot 11 also comprises lace members 38 and eyelets 42 punched into the lace members 38, the outer shell 12 and the inner lining 20 vis-à-vis apertures 40 in order to receive laces for tying on the skate 10.

The inner lining 20 is affixed to an inner surface of the outer shell 12 and comprises an inner surface 32 intended for contact with the heel H and medial and lateral sides MS, LS of the skater's foot and the skater's ankle A in use. The inner lining 20 may be made of a soft material (e.g., a fabric made of NYLON® fibers or any other suitable fabric). The rigid insert 18 is sandwiched between the outer shell 12 and the inner lining 20 and may be affixed in any suitable way (e.g., glued to the inner surface of the outer shell 12 and stitched along its periphery to the outer shell 12). The footbed 22 is mounted inside the outer shell 12 and comprises an upper surface 34 for receiving the plantar surface PS of the skater's foot and a wall 36 projecting upwardly from the upper surface 34 to partially cup the heel H and extend up to a medial line of the skater's foot. The insole 24 has an upper surface 25 for facing the plantar surface PS of the skater's foot and a lower surface 23 on which the outer shell 12 may be affixed.

The outer shell 12 is molded (e.g., thermoformed) such that it comprises a heel portion 44 for receiving the heel H, an ankle portion 46 for receiving the ankle A, and medial and lateral side portions 50, 60 for facing the medial and lateral sides MS, LS of the skater's foot, respectively. The medial and lateral side portions 50, 60 include upper edges 51, 61 which connect to the lace members 38. The heel portion 44 may be formed such that it is substantially cup-shaped for following the contour of the heel H. The ankle portion 46 comprises medial and lateral ankle sides 52, 54. The medial ankle side 52 has a medial cup-shaped depression 56 for receiving the medial malleolus MM and the lateral ankle side 54 has a lateral cup-shaped depression 58 for receiving the lateral malleolus LM of the skater. The lateral depression 58 is located slightly lower than the medial depression 56, for conforming to the morphology of the skater's foot. The ankle portion 46 further comprises a rear portion 47 facing the lower part LP of the Achilles tendon AT. The rear portion 47 may be thermoformed such that it follows the lower part LP of the Achilles tendon AT. Furthermore, the skate boot 11 also includes a tendon guard 43 affixed to the rear portion 47 of the ankle portion 46 and extending upwardly therefrom.

The skate boot 11 may be constructed in any other suitable way in other embodiments. For example, in other embodiments, various components of the skate boot 11 mentioned above may be configured differently or omitted and/or the skate boot 11 may comprise any other components that may be made of any other suitable materials and/or using any other suitable processes.

With additional reference to FIGS. 3 to 8, the blade holder 28 comprises a lower portion 64 comprising a blade-retaining base 80 that retains the blade 52 and an upper portion 62 comprising a support 82 that extends upwardly from the blade-retaining base 80 towards the skate boot 11 to interconnect the blade holder 28 and the skate boot 11. A front portion 66 of the blade holder 28 and a rear portion 68 of the blade holder 28 define a longitudinal axis 65 of the blade holder 28. The front portion 66 of the blade holder 28 includes a frontmost point 70 of the blade holder 28 and extends beneath and along the skater's forefoot in use, while the rear portion 68 of the blade holder 28 includes a rearmost point 72 of the blade holder 28 and extends beneath and along the skater's hindfoot in use. An intermediate portion 74 of the blade holder 28 is between the front and rear portion 66, 68 of the blade holder 28 and extends beneath and along the skater's midfoot in use. A length L of the blade holder 28 can be measured from the frontmost point 70 to the rearmost point 72. The blade holder 28 comprises a medial side 71 and a lateral side 67 that are opposite one another. The blade holder 28 has a longitudinal direction (i.e., a direction generally parallel to its longitudinal axis 65) and transversal directions (i.e., directions transverse to its longitudinal axis 65), including a widthwise direction (i.e., a lateral direction generally perpendicular to its longitudinal axis 65). The blade holder 28 also has a height direction normal to its longitudinal and widthwise directions.

The blade-retaining base 80 is elongated in the longitudinal direction of the blade holder 28 and is configured to retain the blade 52 such that the blade 52 extends along a bottom portion 73 of the blade-retaining base 80 to contact the ice surface. To that end, the blade-retaining base 80 comprises a blade-retention portion 75 to face and retain the blade 52. In this embodiment, the blade-retention portion 75 comprises a recess 76 in which an upper portion of the blade 52 is disposed.

The blade holder 28 can retain the blade 52 in any suitable way. In this embodiment, with additional reference to FIGS. 21A to 21C, the blade holder 28 comprises a blade-detachment mechanism 55 such that the blade 52 is selectively detachable and removable from, and attachable to, the blade holder 28 (e.g., when the blade 52 is worn out or otherwise needs to be replaced or removed from the blade holder 28). More particularly, in this embodiment, the blade 52 includes a plurality of projections 53₁, 53₂. The blade-detachment mechanism 55 includes an actuator 115 and a biasing element 117 which biases the actuator 115 in a direction towards the front portion 66 of the blade holder 28. To attach the blade 52 to the blade holder 28, the front projection 53₁ is first positioned within a hollow space 119 (e.g., a recess or hole) of the blade holder 28. The rear projection 53₂ can then be pushed upwardly into a hollow space 121 (e.g., a recess or hole) of the blade holder 28, thereby causing the biasing element 117 to bend and the actuator 115 to move in a rearward direction. The rear projection 53₂ will eventually reach a position which will allow the biasing element 117 to force the actuator 115 towards the front portion 66 of the blade holder 28, thereby locking the blade 52 in place. The blade 52 can then be removed by pushing against a finger-actuating surface 123 of the actuator 115 to release the rear projection 53₂ from the hollow space 121 of the blade holder 28. Further information on examples of implementation of the blade-detachment mechanism 55 in some embodiments may be obtained from U.S. Pat. No. 8,454,030 hereby incorporated by reference herein. The blade-detachment mechanism 55 may be configured in any other suitable way in other embodiments.

In this embodiment, the blade-retaining base 80 comprises a plurality of apertures 81₁-81₅ distributed in the longitudinal direction of the blade holder 28 and extending from the medial side 71 to the lateral side 67 of the blade holder 28. In this example, respective ones of the apertures 81₁-81₅ differ in size. More particularly, in this example, the apertures 81₁-81₅ decrease in size towards the front portion of the blade holder 66. The apertures 81₁-81₅ may have any other suitable configuration, or may be omitted, in other embodiments.

The blade-retaining base 80 may be configured in any other suitable way in other embodiments.

The support 82 is configured for supporting the skate boot 11 above the blade-retaining base 80 and transmit forces to and from the blade-retaining base 80 during skating. In this embodiment, the support 82 comprises a front pillar 84 and a rear pillar 86 which extend upwardly from the blade-retaining base 80 towards the skate boot 11. The front pillar 84 extends towards the front portion 17 of the skate boot 11 and the rear pillar 86 extends towards the rear portion 19 of the skate boot 11. The blade-retaining base 80 extends from the front pillar 84 to the rear pillar 86. More particularly, in this embodiment, the blade-retaining base 80 comprises a bridge 88 interconnecting the front and rear pillars 84, 86

The support 82 and the skate boot 11 can be connected to one another in any suitable way. In this embodiment, the support 82 is affixed to the skate boot 11. More particularly, in this embodiment, the front and rear pillars 84, 86 are fastened to the skate boot 11 by fasteners (e.g., rivets, screws, bolts). In this example, each of the front and rear pillars 84, 86 comprises a flange 87 including a plurality of apertures 89₁-89_F to receive respective ones of the fasteners that fasten the blade holder 28 to the skate boot 11. The support 82 may be affixed to the skate boot 11 in any other suitable manner in other embodiments (e.g., by an adhesive).

The support 82 may be configured in any other suitable way apertures 81₁-81₅ in other embodiments.

In this embodiment, the blade holder 28 is characterized by a material distribution profile to optimize its weight and performance characteristics. Notably, in this embodiment, the material distribution profile of the blade holder 28 results in a variation in density and a variation in rigidity across certain areas of the blade holder 28 to reduce its weight while providing greater stiffness in some areas (e.g., the front and rear pillars 84, 86) where more rigidity may be desirable (e.g., to better transmit forces) and greater compliance (i.e., less stiffness) in other areas (e.g., along the blade-retaining base 80) where less rigidity may be desirable (e.g., for better feel and control).

The material distribution profile is designed such that the blade holder 28 comprises an arrangement of different materials M₁, M₂ disposed in selected areas of the blade holder 28. The different materials M₁, M₂ belong to different classes of materials (i.e., polymers, metals, ceramics and composites) and/or exhibit substantially different values of a given material property (e.g., modulus of elasticity, tensile strength, density, etc.).

In this embodiment, the material M₁ is stiffer (i.e., more rigid) than the material M₂ and makes up at least a major part (i.e., a major part or an entirety) of the support 82 of the upper portion 62 of the blade holder 28, while the material M₂ makes up at least a major part of the blade-retaining base 80 of the lower portion 64 of the blade holder 28. More particularly, in this embodiment, the material M₁ makes up at least a major part of each of the front and rear pillars 84, 86 and the material M₂ makes up at least a major part of the blade-retaining base 80. This makes the front and rear pillars 84, 86 of the blade holder 28 stiffer, which may better transmit forces and provide more strength during skating, while making the blade-retaining base 80 less stiff, which may allow for better feel and control during skating.

More particularly, in this embodiment, with additional reference to FIGS. 9 to 20, each of the front and rear pillars 84, 86 is at least mainly (i.e., mainly or entirely) made of the material M₁, while the blade-retaining base 80 is at least mainly made of the material M₂. In this example, each of the front and rear pillars 84, 86 is entirely made of the material M₁, while a major part 63 of the blade-retaining base 80 is made of the material M₂ and a thin upper part 69 of the bridge 88 of the blade-retaining base 80 is made of the material M₁. More specifically, in this example, the thin upper part 69 of the bridge 88 of the blade-retaining base 80 is integrally formed and continuous with the front and rear pillars 84, 86 such that the thin upper part 69 of the bridge 88 and the front and rear pillars 84, 86 constitute a monolithic one-piece upper component 77 of the blade holder 28 that is made of the material M₁, while the major part 63 of the blade-retaining base 80 constitutes a monolithic one-piece lower component 78 of the blade holder 28 that is made of the material M₂. In other embodiments, different parts of the front and rear pillars 84, 86 and the blade-retaining base 80 may be made of the materials M₁, M₂.

The materials M₁, M₂ may differ in rigidity to any suitable degree. For example, in some embodiments, a ratio λ₁/λ₂ of a modulus of elasticity λ₁ (e.g., tensile modulus) of the material M₁ over a modulus of elasticity λ₂ of the material M₂ may be at least 2, in some cases at least 5, in some cases at least 10, in some cases at least 20, in some cases at least 50, and in some cases even more (e.g., at least 100). This ratio may have any other suitable value in other embodiments.

For instance, in some embodiments, the modulus of elasticity λ₁ of the material M₁ may be at least 25 GPa, in some cases at least 50 GPa, in some cases at least 100 GPa, and in some cases even more (e.g., at least 150 GPa or 200 GPa), and/or the modulus of elasticity λ₂ of the material M₂ may be no more than 20 GPa, in some cases no more than 10 GPa, in some cases no more than 5 GPa, and in some cases even less (e.g., no more than 2 GPa or 1 GPa). The modulus of elasticity λ₁ of the material M₁ and/or the modulus of elasticity λ₂ of the material M₂ may have any other suitable value in other embodiments.

In this embodiment, the material M₁ is denser than the material M₂ and, thus, in addition to making the blade-retaining base 80 less stiff for better feel and control, the material M₂ which is less dense than the material M₁ helps to reduce the weight of the blade holder 28.

The materials M₁, M₂ may differ in density to any suitable degree. For example, in some embodiments, a ratio ρ₁/ρ₂ of a density ρ₁ of the material M₁ over a density ρ₂ of the material M₂ may be at least 1.1, in some cases at least 1.2, in some cases at least 1.3, and in some cases even more (e.g., at least 1.5). This ratio may have any other suitable value in other embodiments.

For instance, in some embodiments, the density ρ₁ of the material M₁ may be at least 1 g/cm³, in some cases at least 1.2 g/cm³, in some cases at least 1.4 g/cm³, in some cases at least 1.8 g/cm³, in some cases at least 2 g/cm³, and in some cases even more (e.g., at least 2.5 g/cm³ or 3 g/cm³), and/or the density ρ₂ of the material M₂ may be no more than 2 g/cm³, in some cases no more than 1.8 g/cm³, in some cases no more than 1.4 g/cm³, in some cases no more than 1.2 g/cm³ and in some cases even less (e.g., no more than 1 g/cm³ or 0.8 g/cm³). The density ρ₁ of the material M₁ and/or the density ρ₂ of the material M₂ may have any other suitable value in other embodiments.

In this embodiment, the material M₁ is a composite material and the material M₂ is a non-composite material (i.e., a material that is not a composite material). In this example, the non-composite material M₂ is a non-composite polymeric material.

More particularly, in this embodiment, the composite material M₁ is a fiber-matrix composite material that comprises a matrix 90 in which fibers 92₁-92_F are embedded.

The matrix 90 may include any suitable substance. In this embodiment, the matrix 90 is a polymeric matrix. Thus, in this example of implementation, the composite material M₁ is a fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP—a.k.a., fiber-reinforced polymer). The polymeric matrix 90 may include any suitable polymeric resin. For instance, in some examples, the polymeric matrix 90 may include a thermoplastic or thermosetting resin, such as epoxy, polyethylene, polypropylene, acrylic, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), polyether ether ketone (PEEK) or other polyaryletherketone (PAEK), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), polycarbonate, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), nylon, polyimide, polysulfone, polyamide-imide, self-reinforcing polyphenylene, polyester, vinyl ester, vinyl ether, polyurethane, cyanate ester, phenolic resin, etc., a hybrid thermosetting-thermoplastic resin, or any other suitable resin. In this embodiment, the polymeric matrix 90 includes an epoxy resin.

The fibers 92₁-92_F may be made of any suitable material. In this embodiment, the fibers 92₁-92_F are carbon fibers. The composite material M₁ is thus a carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic in this example of implementation. Any other suitable type of fibers may be used in other embodiments (e.g., polymeric fibers such as aramid fibers (e.g., Kevlar fibers), boron fibers, silicon carbide fibers, metallic fibers, glass fibers, ceramic fibers, etc.).

In this embodiment, the fibers 92₁-92_F are continuous such that they constitute a continuous fiber reinforcement of the composite material M₁. For example, in this embodiment, the fibers 92₁-92_F may be provided as layers of continuous fibers (e.g. pre-preg (i.e., pre-impregnated) layers of fibers held together by an amount of matrix material, which is destined to provide a respective portion of the matrix 90 of the composite material M₁).

In this example, respective ones of the fibers 92₁-92_F are oriented differently. For example, in some embodiments, the fibers 92₁-92_F are arranged in layers stacked upon one another and may extend parallel or at an oblique angle to the longitudinal axis of the blade holder 28. For instance, given ones of the fibers 92₁-92_F in the layers that are stacked may be oriented at 0°, +/−45° and +/−90° in an alternating manner. The fibers 92₁-92_F may be arranged in any other suitable way in other examples.

In this embodiment, the polymeric material M₂ is a thermoplastic material. More particularly, in this example, the polymeric material M₂ is nylon (polyamide). The polymeric material M₂ may be any other suitable thermoplastic material in other examples (e.g., thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), etc.). The polymeric material M₂ may be a thermosetting material or any other suitable polymer in other embodiments (e.g., polypropylene, polyethylene (e.g., HDPE), polycarbonate, etc.).

With continued reference to FIGS. 3 to 20, in this embodiment, since it includes the composite material M₁ providing greater stiffness, parts of the blade holder 28 that are made of the composite material M₁ can be reduced in size in order to reduce the weight of the blade holder 28.

For instance, in this embodiment, the blade holder 28 comprises a void 94 between the front and rear pillars 84, 86 that is relatively large and thus helps to reduce its weight. Notably, in this example, the front and rear pillars 84, 86 are significantly spaced apart and relatively short in the longitudinal direction of the blade holder 28. A longitudinal extent V of the void 94 (i.e., a maximal distance between the front and rear pillars 84, 86 in the longitudinal direction of the blade holder 28) is relatively large and a minimal longitudinal dimension C of each of the front and rear pillars 84, 86 (i.e., a minimal dimension in the longitudinal direction of the blade holder 28 of each of the front and rear pillars 84, 86) is relatively small.

For example, in some embodiments, the longitudinal extent V of the void 94 between the front and rear pillars 84, 86 may be greater than a sum of the minimal longitudinal dimension C of the front pillars 84 and the minimal longitudinal dimension C of the rear pillar 86.

As another example, in some embodiments, the longitudinal extent V of the void 94 between the front and rear pillars 84, 86 may be greater than the minimal longitudinal dimension C of each of the front and rear pillars 84, 86. For instance, in some embodiments, a ratio V/C of the longitudinal extent V of the void 94 between the front and rear pillars 84, 86 over the minimal longitudinal dimension C of each of the front and rear pillars 84, 86 may be at least 1.8, in some cases at least 2, in some cases at least 2.2, and in some cases even greater. This ratio may have any other value in other embodiments.

As yet another example, in some embodiments, a ratio V/L of the longitudinal extent V of the void 94 between the front and rear pillars 84, 86 over the length L of the blade holder 28 may be at least 0.4, in some cases at least 0.5, in some cases at least 0.6, and in some cases even greater. This ratio may have any other value in other embodiments.

For instance, in this embodiment, the length L of the blade holder 28 may be about 30 cm, the minimal longitudinal dimension C of the front pillar 84 may be about 7 cm, the minimal longitudinal dimension C of the rear pillar 86 may be about 7 cm, and the longitudinal extent V of the void 94 between the front and rear pillars 84, 86 may be about 15 cm for a size 8. The length L of the blade holder 28, the minimal longitudinal dimension C of each of the front and rear pillars 84, 86, and the longitudinal extent V of the void 94 between the front and rear pillars 84, 86 may have any other suitable values in other embodiments.

In this embodiment, each of the front and rear pillars 84, 86 comprises a wall 95 that defines a cavity 96. In this example, the wall 95 is made of the composite material M₁ and can be relatively thin. For instance, in some embodiments, a thickness T of the wall 95 may be no more than 5 mm, in some cases no more than 4 mm, in some cases no more than 3 mm, in some cases no more than 2 mm, and in some cases even less. The thickness T of the wall 95 may have any other suitable value in other embodiments.

In this example of implementation, each of the front and rear pillars 84, 86 comprises a top opening 97 that leads to its cavity 96 and faces the skate boot 11 when the blade holder 28 is mounted to the skate boot 11.

Also, in this example of implementation, each of the front and rear pillars 84, 86 comprises a peripheral opening 98 that leads to its cavity 96 such that its cavity 96 is exposed from an exterior of the skate 10 when the blade holder 28 is mounted to the skate boot 11. That is, each of the front and rear pillars 84, 86 is open peripherally such that its cavity 96 opens up to the exterior of the skate 10 when the blade holder 28 is mounted to the skate boot 11. More particularly, in this example of implementation, the peripheral opening 98 of the front pillar 84 and the peripheral opening 98 of the rear pillar 86 face one another.

Therefore, in this embodiment, even though it includes significant parts made of the composite material M₁, in view of a reduction in size of these parts and/or use of the polymeric material M₂ which is less dense, the weight of the blade holder 28 can be relatively low. For example, in some embodiments, a ratio of the weight of the blade holder 28 over the length L of the blade holder 28 may be no more than 4.3 g/cm, in some cases no more than 4 g/cm, in some cases no more than 3.7 g/cm, in some cases no more than 3.5 g/cm, and in some cases even less (e.g., no more than 3.3 g/cm). For instance, in some embodiments, if the length L of the blade holder 28 is about 30 cm (e.g., for a size 8), the weight of the blade holder 28 may be no more than 130 g, in some cases no more than 120 g, in some cases no more than 110 g, in some cases no more than 105 g, and in some cases even less (e.g., no more than 100 g). The weight of the blade holder 28 may have any other suitable value in other embodiments.

The composite material M₁ and the polymeric material M₂ making up respective portions of the blade holder 28 may be interconnected in any suitable way.

In this embodiment, the composite material M₁ and the polymeric material M₂ are mechanically interlocked. That is, the composite material M₁ and the polymeric material M₂ are in a mechanical interlock relationship in which they are interconnected via a part of the blade holder 28 made of a given one of the composite material M₁ and the polymeric material M₂ extending into a part of the blade holder 28 made of the other one of the composite material M₁ and the polymeric material M₂. More specifically, the part of the blade holder 28 made of the given one of the composite material M₁ and the polymeric material M₂ comprises an interlocking space (e.g., one or more holes, one or more recesses, and/or one or more other hollow areas) into which extends an interlocking portion of the part of the blade holder 28 made of the other one of the composite material M₁ and the polymeric material M₂.

More particularly, in this embodiment, with additional reference to FIG. 26, the upper component 77 of the blade holder 28 made of the composite material M₁ and including the front and rear pillars 84, 86 and the thin upper part 69 of the bridge 88 comprises an interlocking space 102 into which extends an interlocking portion 104 of the lower component 78 of the blade holder 28 made of the polymeric material M₂ and including the major part 63 of the blade-retaining base 80. In this example, the interlocking space 102 of the upper component 77 of the blade holder 28 made of the composite material M₁ comprises a plurality of holes 106₁-106_H (e.g., which may have been pre-molded or drilled) and the interlocking portion 104 of the lower component 78 of the blade holder 28 made of the polymeric material M₂ comprises a plurality of elements 108₁-108_H that extend into respective ones of the holes 106₁-106_H to interlock the composite material M₁ and the polymeric material M₂ together.

In this example of implementation, the blade holder 28 is manufactured using an overmolding process in which the polymeric material M₂ is overmolded onto the composite material M₁ to create an overmolded joint 112 between the polymeric material M₂ and composite material M₁. More particularly, during the overmolding process, the polymeric material M₂ flows into the holes 106₁-106_H of the upper component 77 of the blade holder 28 made of the composite material M₁ where it is captured to mechanically interlock the polymeric material M₂ and composite material at the joint 112. In some cases, the thermoplastic material M₂ and the matrix 90 of the composite material M₁ may enhance retention of the materials M₁, M₂ together (e.g., by creating a chemical bond between them).

More particularly, in this example of implementation, the upper component 77 of the blade holder 28 made of the composite material M₁ may be manufactured by providing a plurality of layers of fibers, which are destined to provide the fibers 92₁-92_F of the composite material M₁, onto one another on a supporting structure which is then placed in a mold to consolidate the composite material M₁. In this embodiment, each of these layers of fibers is provided as a pre-preg (i.e., pre-impregnated) layer of fibers held together by an amount of matrix material, which is destined to provide a respective portion of the matrix 90 of the composite material M₁. The supporting structure onto which the pre-preg layers of fibers are layered may be implemented in any suitable manner (e.g., one or more silicone mold parts, one or more inflatable bladders, etc.). In other embodiments, the matrix 90 of the composite material M₁ may be provided separately from (e.g., injected onto) the layers of fibers. The holes 106₁-106_H for eventual interlocking of the polymeric material M₂ may be molded in the mold in which the composite material M₁ is consolidated or may be drilled after consolidation of the composite material M₁ in the mold. Various other manufacturing techniques may be used to make the upper component 77 of the blade holder 28 made of the composite material M₁.

Once the upper component 77 of the blade holder 28 made of the composite material M₁ is formed, in this example of implementation, the lower component 78 of the blade holder 28 made of the polymeric material M₂ may be manufactured by overmolding the polymeric material M₂ onto the composite material M₁. For instance, the polymeric material M₂ may be injected into a mold in which the upper component 77 of the blade holder 28 is disposed.

The blade holder 28 can be manufactured using any other suitable process in other embodiments.

In this embodiment, the blade-detachment mechanism 55 of the blade holder 28 to selectively attach and detach the blade 52 to and from the blade holder 28 is disposed in a cavity 130 defined by a wall 132 of the blade-retaining base 80 made of the polymeric material M₂. The polymeric material M₂ is thus disposed between the blade 52 and the composite material M₁. The greater compliance of the polymeric material M₂, and possibly its greater ductility, may help to isolate the composite material M₁ from the blade 52 and the blade-detachment mechanism 55 and thus reduce a potential for rattling or other vibrations to be transmitted to the composite material M₁ (e.g., thereby reducing a potential for local stresses and crack formation in the composite material M₁). The polymeric material M₂ may thus serve as a “bumper” between the blade 52 and the composite material M₁. In this example, the cavity 130 is contiguous to the cavity 96 defined by the wall 95 of the rear pillar 86 such that an opening 136 links the cavity 130 and the cavity 96 which constitute a common continuous hollow space. In other examples, the cavity 130 may be isolated from the cavity 96 defined by the wall 95 of the rear pillar 86.

The blade 52 comprises an ice-contacting material 140 including an ice-contacting surface 127 for sliding on the ice surface while the skater skates. In this embodiment, the ice-contacting material 140 is a metallic material (e.g., stainless steel). The ice-contacting material 140 may be any other suitable material in other embodiments. Also, in this embodiment, an entirety of the blade 52 is made of the ice-contacting material 140.

The ice skate 10, including the blade holder 28, may be implemented in any other suitable way in other embodiments.

For example, in other embodiments, the blade holder 28 may have any other suitable shape. For instance, in other embodiments, the support 82 and/or the blade-retaining base 80 may be shaped in various other ways (e.g., the front and rear pillars 84, 86 may be shaped differently; the blade-retaining base 80 may have more, fewer, or no apertures such as the apertures 81₁-81₅; etc). As an example, FIG. 36 shows an embodiment in which the front and rear pillars 84, 86 are open only at their top opening 97 (i.e., they lack any peripheral opening such as the peripheral opening 98). As another example, FIG. 38 shows an embodiment in which in which the blade-retaining base 80 has four apertures such as the apertures 81₁-81₅. As yet another example, FIG. 37 shows an embodiment in which the blade-retaining base 80 has no apertures such as the apertures 81₁-81₅.

In other embodiments, the composite material M₁ and the polymeric material M₂ of the blade holder 28 may be interconnected in any other suitable way.

For example, in some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 38 and 39, the upper component 77 of the blade holder 28 made of the composite material M₁ comprises a plurality of projections 153₁,153₂ that project towards the lower component 78 of the blade holder 28 made of the polymeric material M₂ and that include part of the interlocking space 102 into which extends the interlocking portion 104 of the lower component 78 of the blade holder 28. In this embodiment, each of the projections 153₁,153₂ is a flap, the part of the interlocking space 102 of the upper component 77 of the blade holder 28 formed by each of the flaps 153₁,153₂ comprises a plurality of holes 155₁,155₄ (e.g., which may have been pre-molded or drilled), and the interlocking portion 104 of the lower component 78 of the blade holder 28 comprises a plurality of elements 168₁-168₈ that extend into respective ones of the holes 155₁-155₄ of each of the flaps 153₁,153₂ to interlock the composite material M₁ and the polymeric material M₂ together. Thus, in this embodiment, the holes 106₁-106_H and the holes 155₁-155₄ of the interlocking space 102 of the upper component 77 of the blade holder 28 are oriented differently such that the elements 108₁-108_H and the elements 168₁-168₈ of the interlocking portion 104 of the lower component 78 of the blade holder 28 extend transversally to one another (e.g., in this case, the elements 108₁-108_H extend into the holes 106₁-106_H generally vertically and the elements 168₁-168₈ extend into the holes 155₁-155₄ generally horizontally). In some cases, this may help to further enhance mechanical interlocking of the composite material M₁ and the polymeric material M₂.

As another example, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 27, instead of or in addition to the upper component 77 of the blade holder 28 made of the composite material M₁ comprising the interlocking space 102 into which extends the interlocking portion 104 of the lower component 78 of the blade holder 28 made of the polymeric material M₂, the lower component 78 of the blade holder 28 made of the polymeric material M₂ may comprise an interlocking space 116 into which extends an interlocking portion 118 of the upper component 77 of the blade holder 28 made of the composite material M₁. For instance, in this embodiment, the interlocking space 116 of the lower component 78 of the blade holder 28 made of the polymeric material M₂ comprises a plurality of holes 120₁-120_J (e.g., which may have been pre-molded or drilled) and the interlocking portion 118 of the upper component 77 of the blade holder 28 made of the composite material M₁ comprises a plurality of elements 122₁-122_J that extend into respective ones of the holes 120₁-120_J to interlock the composite material M₁ and the polymeric material M₂ together. In this example, the thermoplastic resin of the matrix 90 of the composite material M₁ when provided (e.g., injected) flows into the holes 120₁-120_J defined by the polymeric material M₂ to create the elements 122₁-122_J that interlock the composite material M₁ and the polymeric material M₂ together.

As another example, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 28, instead of or in addition to the composite material M₁ and the polymeric material M₂ being mechanically interlocked, the composite material M₁ and the polymeric material M₂ may be adhesively bonded by an adhesive 124. The adhesive 124 may be an epoxy-based adhesive, a polyurethane-based adhesive, a methacrylate adhesive, a methyl methacrylate adhesive, or any other suitable adhesive for bonding the composite material M₁ and the polymeric material M₂.

As another example, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 29, instead of or in addition to the composite material M₁ and the polymeric material M₂ being mechanically interlocked and/or adhesively bonded, the composite material M₁ and the polymeric material M₂ may be fastened using one or more fasteners 128. Each fastener 128 may be a rivet, a screw, a bolt, or any other suitable mechanical fastener

While in embodiments considered above the different materials M₁, M₂ making up respective parts of the blade holder 28 include a composite material and a non-composite polymeric material, the different materials M₁, M₂ may include any other suitable combination of materials in other embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, the material M₁ may be a composite material and the material M₂ may be a different composite material (e.g., less stiff than the composite material M₁, by including fewer and/or less rigid fibers in its matrix and/or having its matrix more compliant than the composite material M₁). For instance, in some embodiments, the composite material M₁ may include continuous fibers (e.g., pre-preg layers of fibers) providing a continuous fiber reinforcement as discussed above, while the composite material M₂ may include discontinuous (e.g., chopped) fibers randomly dispersed within its matrix. For example, in some cases, the composite material M₂ may include a nylon matrix in which are dispersed chopped fibers (e.g., 10% or 20% chopped fibers) such as carbon or aramid fibers, which may also enhance abrasion resistance).

Also, while in embodiments considered above there are two different materials M₁, M₂ making up respective parts of the blade holder 28, the material distribution profile of the blade holder 28 may include three or more different materials making up respective parts of the blade holder 28 such as described above in relation to the materials M₁, M₂.

In other embodiments, the blade holder 28 may retain the blade 52 in any other suitable way. For instance, instead of being selectively detachable and removable from and attachable to the blade holder 28, in other embodiments, the blade 52 may be permanently affixed to the blade holder 28 (i.e., not intended to be detached and removed from the blade holder 28). As an example, in some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 30 and 31, the blade holder 28 may retain the blade 52 using an adhesive 172 and/or one or more fasteners 175. For instance, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 30, the recess 76 of the blade holder 28 may receive the upper part of the blade 52 that is retained by the adhesive 172. The adhesive 172 may be an epoxy-based adhesive, a polyurethane-based adhesive, or any suitable adhesive. In some embodiments, instead of or in addition to using an adhesive, as shown in FIG. 31, the recess 76 of the blade holder 28 may receive the upper part of the blade 52 that is retained by the one or more fasteners 175. Each fastener 175 may be a rivet, a screw, a bolt, or any other suitable mechanical fastener. Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 32, the blade-retention portion 75 of the blade holder 28 may extend into a recess 181 of the upper part of the blade 52 to retain the blade 52 using the adhesive 172 and/or the one or more fasteners 175. For instance, in some cases, the blade-retention portion 75 of the blade holder 28 may comprise a projection 188 extending into the recess 181 of the blade 52. As another example, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 33, the blade 52 and the blade-retaining base 80 of the blade holder 28 may be mechanically interlocked via an interlocking portion 191 of one of the blade-retaining base 80 and the blade 52 that extends into an interlocking void 193 of the other one of the blade-retaining base 80 and the blade 52. For instance, in some cases, the blade 52 can be positioned in a mold used for molding the blade holder 28 such that, during molding, the interlocking portion 191 of the blade-retaining base 80 flows into the interlocking void 193 of the blade 52 (i.e., the blade holder 28 is overmolded onto the blade 52).

The blade 52 may be implemented in any other suitable way in other embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 34 and 35, the blade 52 may comprise a runner 145 that is made of the ice-contacting material 140 and includes the ice-contacting surface 127 and a body 148 connected to the runner 145 and made of a material 150 different from the ice-contacting material 140. The runner 145 and the body 148 of the blade 52 may be retained together in any suitable way. For example, in some cases, the runner 145 may be adhesively bonded to the body 148 using an adhesive. As another example, in addition to or instead of being adhesively bonded, the runner 145 and the body 148 may be fastened using one or more fasteners (e.g., rivets, screws, bolts, etc.). As yet another example, the runner 145 and the body 148 may be mechanically interlocked by an interlocking portion of one of the runner 145 and the body 148 that extends into an interlocking space (e.g., one or more holes, one or more recesses, and/or one or more other hollow areas) of the other one of the runner 145 and the body 148 (e.g., the body 148 may be overmolded onto the runner 145).

To facilitate the description, any reference numeral designating an element in one figure designates the same element if used in any other figures. In describing the embodiments, specific terminology has been resorted to for the sake of clarity but the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is understood that each specific term comprises all equivalents.

In some embodiments, any feature of any embodiment described herein may be used in combination with any feature of any other embodiment described herein.

Certain additional elements that may be needed for operation of certain embodiments have not been described or illustrated as they are assumed to be within the purview of those of ordinary skill in the art. Moreover, certain embodiments may be free of, may lack and/or may function without any element that is not specifically disclosed herein.

Although various embodiments have been illustrated, this was for the purpose of describing, but not limiting, the invention. Various modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art and are within the scope of this invention, which is defined more particularly by the attached claims.

Claims

1. A blade holder for an ice skate, the ice skate comprising a skate boot for receiving a foot of a skater, the blade holder comprising: a blade-retaining base to retain a blade, the blade-retaining base comprising a first polymeric material; anda support extending upwardly from the blade-retaining base to interconnect the blade holder and the skate boot such that the blade holder is below the skate boot, the support comprising a second polymeric material different from the first polymeric material;

2. The blade holder of claim 1, wherein the second polymeric material is a composite material.

3. The blade holder of claim 2, wherein the composite material is a fiber-matrix composite material.

4. The blade holder of claim 3, wherein the fiber-matrix composite material is a fiber-reinforced plastic.

5. The blade holder of claim 2, wherein the composite material comprises fibers in a polymeric matrix.

6. The blade holder of claim 2, wherein the first polymeric material is a non-composite polymeric material.

7. The blade holder of claim 6, wherein the non-composite polymeric material is a thermoplastic material.

8. The blade holder of claim 1, wherein the first polymeric material is a non-composite thermoplastic and the second polymeric material is a carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic.

9. The blade holder of claim 1, wherein the second polymeric material is stiffer than the first polymeric material.

10. The blade holder of claim 9, wherein a ratio of a modulus of elasticity of the second polymeric material over a modulus of elasticity of the first polymeric material is at least 2.

11. The blade holder of claim 9, wherein a ratio of a modulus of elasticity of the second polymeric material over a modulus of elasticity of the first polymeric material is at least 10.

12. The blade holder of claim 1, wherein a modulus of elasticity of the second polymeric material is at least 25 GPa and a modulus of elasticity of the first polymeric material is no more than 10 GPa.

13. The blade holder of claim 1, wherein the second polymeric material is denser than the first polymeric material.

14. The blade holder of claim 13, wherein a ratio of a density of the second polymeric material over a density of the first polymeric material is at least 1.1.

15. The blade holder of claim 13, wherein a ratio of a density of the second polymeric material over a density of the first polymeric material is at least 1.2.

16. The blade holder of claim 13, wherein a ratio of a density of the second polymeric material over a density of the first polymeric material is at least 1.3.

17. The blade-holder of claim 1, wherein the support comprises a front pillar and a rear pillar and the blade-retaining base comprises a bridge interconnecting the front pillar and the rear pillar.

18. The blade holder of claim 17, wherein at least a majority of the front pillar and the rear pillar is made of the second polymeric material.

19. The blade holder of claim 18, wherein at least a majority of the bridge is made of the first polymeric material.

20. The blade holder of claim 17, wherein: the front pillar, the rear pillar and an upper part of the bridge are made of the second polymeric material and constitute a monolithic one-piece upper component of the blade holder; and a major part of the blade-retaining base is made of the first polymeric material and constitutes a monolithic one-piece lower component of the blade holder.

21. The blade holder of claim 17, comprising a void extending from the front pillar to the rear pillar, wherein a longitudinal extent of the void in a longitudinal direction of the blade holder is greater than a sum of a minimal longitudinal dimension of the front pillar in the longitudinal direction of the blade holder and a minimal longitudinal dimension of the rear pillar in the longitudinal direction of the blade holder.

22. The blade holder of claim 17, comprising a void extending from the front pillar to the rear pillar, wherein a longitudinal extent of the void in a longitudinal direction of the blade holder is greater than a minimal longitudinal dimension of the front pillar in the longitudinal direction of the blade holder and a minimal longitudinal dimension of the rear pillar in the longitudinal direction of the blade holder.

23. The blade holder of claim 22, wherein a ratio of the longitudinal extent of the void over the minimal longitudinal dimension of the front pillar is at least 1.8 and a ratio of the longitudinal extent of the void over the minimal longitudinal dimension of the rear pillar is at least 1.8.

24. The blade holder of claim 17, comprising a void extending from the front pillar to the rear pillar, wherein a ratio of a longitudinal extent of the void in a longitudinal direction of the blade holder over a length of the blade holder is at least 0.4.

25. The blade holder of claim 17, wherein each of the front pillar and the rear pillar comprises a wall defining a cavity and at least partly made of the second material.

26. The blade holder of claim 25, wherein a thickness T of the wall is no more than 5 mm.

27. The blade holder of claim 25, wherein each of the front pillar and the rear pillar comprises a top opening that leads to its cavity and faces the skate boot when the blade holder is mounted to the skate boot.

28. The blade holder of claim 27, wherein each of the front pillar and the rear pillar comprises a peripheral opening that leads to its cavity such that its cavity is exposed from an exterior of the skate when the blade holder is mounted to the skate boot.

29. The blade holder of claim 28, wherein the peripheral opening of the front pillar and the peripheral opening of the rear pillar face one another.

30. The blade holder of claim 1, wherein the hollow interlocking space comprises a plurality of holes that are occupied by the other one of the first polymeric material and the second polymeric material to mechanically interlock the first polymeric material and the second polymeric material.

31. The blade holder of claim 1, wherein the given one of the first polymeric material and the second polymeric material is the second polymeric material.

32. The blade holder of claim 1, wherein the given one of the first polymeric material and the second polymeric material is overmolded onto the other one of the first polymeric material and the second polymeric material to mechanically interlock the first polymeric material and the second polymeric material.

33. The blade holder of claim 32, wherein the given one of the first polymeric material and the second polymeric material is the first polymeric material.

34. The blade holder of claim 1, wherein the blade-retaining base comprises a recess to receive an upper portion of the blade.

35. The blade holder of claim 1, wherein the first polymeric material is less stiff than the second polymeric material and the blade-detachment mechanism is disposed in a cavity defined by a wall at least partly made of the first polymeric material.

36. The blade holder of claim 1, wherein the support is configured to be affixed to the skate boot.

37. The blade holder of claim 1, wherein a ratio of a weight of the blade holder over a length of the blade holder is no more than 4.3 g/cm.

38. The blade holder of claim 1, wherein a ratio of a weight of the blade holder over a length of the blade holder is no more than 3.7 g/cm.

39. A blade holder for an ice skate, the ice skate comprising a skate boot for receiving a foot of a skater, the blade holder comprising: a blade-retaining base to retain a blade, the blade-retaining base comprising a first material;a support extending upwardly from the blade-retaining base to interconnect the blade holder and the skate boot, the support comprising a second material stiffer than the first material; anda blade-detachment mechanism comprising an actuator manually operable such that the blade is selectively detachable and removable from, and attachable to, the blade holder, the actuator comprising a finger-engaging surface to manually detach the blade from the blade holder, at least part of the blade-detachment mechanism being disposed in a cavity defined by a wall at least partly made of the first material.

40. An ice skate comprising the blade holder of claim 1.

41. A blade holder for an ice skate, the ice skate comprising a skate boot for receiving a foot of a skater, the blade holder comprising: a. a blade-retaining base to retain a blade, the blade-retaining base comprising a first polymeric material; andb. a support extending upwardly from the blade-retaining base to interconnect the blade holder and the skate boot such that the blade holder is below the skate boot, the support comprising a second polymeric material different from the first polymeric material;

42. A blade holder for an ice skate, the ice skate comprising a skate boot for receiving a foot of a skater, the blade holder comprising: a. a blade-retaining base to retain a blade, the blade-retaining base comprising a first polymeric material; andb. a support extending upwardly from the blade-retaining base to interconnect the blade holder and the skate boot such that the blade holder is below the skate boot, the support comprising a second polymeric material different from the first polymeric material;

43. The blade holder of claim 42, wherein the peripheral opening of the front pillar and the peripheral opening of the rear pillar face one another.

44. A blade holder for an ice skate, the ice skate comprising a skate boot for receiving a foot of a skater, the blade holder comprising: a. a blade-retaining base to retain a blade, the blade-retaining base comprising a first polymeric material; andb. a support extending upwardly from the blade-retaining base to interconnect the blade holder and the skate boot such that the blade holder is below the skate boot, the support comprising a second polymeric material different from the first polymeric material;

45. An ice skate comprising the blade holder of claim 44.