Patent Grant
9622539
The present invention relates to a skate boot having medial and lateral lace members, wherein each lace member has at least one opening for receiving an insert and wherein the flexibility of the lace member may be adjusted by a skater between different flexion modes.
Skate boots are well known in the art for use in hockey skates, figure skates or roller skates, for example. Conventionally, laces are used to secure the skate boot to the skater's foot although other securement mechanisms such as Velcro™ or snaps can also be used. Regardless of the securement mechanism employed, it is generally desirable that the skate boot exhibit a certain level of flexibility around the skater's ankle in order to accommodate flexing or extension of the skater's ankle.
While some skate boots are made with flexibility issues in mind, they are usually manufactured in bulk with a pre-defined design. This can present an inconvenience to a potential purchaser if a particular skate or roller blade design is desired (due to its affordability or performance features) because the skate boot may not provide a comfortable fit. Thus, many different skaters with different needs are presented with, at best, a rather limited set of choices with regard to the flexibility characteristics of a given design.
As it is of interest to accommodate the needs of different skaters, much time and effort is invested in developing improvements in skate boots to respond to such needs.
Accordingly, there is therefore an ongoing need in the industry for an improved skate boot structure which overcomes the aforementioned problems and which can accommodate a plurality of different skating styles, modes, types or fashions, as well as the need to provide a skate boot wherein the skater may adjust the flexibility of the skate boot between different flexion modes in the ankle region of the boot.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a skate boot for enclosing a human foot when in use. The foot has medial and lateral sides. The skate boot comprises an outer shell including medial and lateral side portions for facing the medial and lateral sides of the foot. Each of the medial and lateral side portions has an upper edge. The skate boot also comprises a lace member mounted to either of the upper edges of the medial and lateral side portions. The lace member has at least one opening for receiving an insert. The lace member has a first flexion mode when no insert is received in the at least one opening and a second flexion mode when the insert is received in the at least one opening. The second flexion mode is different from the first flexion mode.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a skate boot for enclosing a human foot when in use. The foot has medial and lateral sides. The skate boot comprises an outer shell including medial and lateral side portions for facing the medial and lateral sides of the foot. Each of the medial and lateral side portions has an upper edge. The skate boot also comprises a lace member mounted to either of the upper edges of the medial and lateral side portions. The lace member has at least one opening for receiving an insert. In use, a first insert selected among a plurality of inserts is mounted in the at least one opening such that the lace member has a first flexion mode.
These and other aspects and features of the present invention will now become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
A detailed description of examples of embodiments of the present invention is provided hereinbelow with reference to the following drawings, in which:
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 the purposes of illustration and as an aid to understanding, and are not intended to be a definition of the limits of the invention.
To facilitate the description, any reference numerals designating an element in one figure will designate the same element if used in any other figures. In describing the embodiments, specific terminology is 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.
Unless otherwise indicated, the drawings are intended to be read together with the specification, and are to be considered a portion of the entire written description of this invention. As used in the following description, the terms “horizontal”, “vertical”, “left”, “right”, “up”, “down” and the like, as well as adjectival and adverbial derivatives thereof (e.g., “horizontally”, “rightwardly”, “upwardly”, “radially”, etc.), simply refer to the orientation of the illustrated structure. Similarly, the terms “inwardly,” “outwardly” and “radially” generally refer to the orientation of a surface relative to its axis of elongation, or axis of rotation, as appropriate.
Shown in
Shown in
The ice skate 1 has an outer shell 12 for receiving the foot F, a toe cap 14 made of rigid molded plastic 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 foot F, a rigid insert 18 for providing more rigidity around the ankle A and heel H, an inner lining 20, a footbed 22, an insole 24, an outsole 26, an ice skate blade holder 28 and a blade 30. The rigid insert 18 may be glued to an inner surface of the outer shell 12. It is understood that the rigid insert 18 is an optional component and may be eliminated if the outer shell 12 is sufficiently rigid for supporting the ankle A and heel H. Similarly, the insole 24 and outsole 26 are optional components and may be eliminated if the outer shell 12 is sufficiently rigid for receiving the blade holder 28.
The inner lining 20 is affixed to an inner surface of the outer shell 12 and it comprises an inner surface 32 intended for contact with the heel H, ankle A and medial and lateral sides MS, LS of the foot F in use. If the skate boot 10 comprises the rigid insert 18, such rigid insert 18 is sandwiched between the outer shell 12 and inner lining 20 and such inner lining 20 may be glued to the inner surfaces of the outer shell 12 and rigid insert 18 and stitched along its periphery to the outer shell 12. The inner lining 20 is made of a soft material and can be a fabric made of 100% NYLON® fibers. The footbed is mounted inside the outer shell 12 and it comprises an upper surface 34 for receiving the plantar surface PS of the foot F and a wall 36 projecting upwardly from the upper surface 34. The wall 36 partially cups the heel H and extends up to a medial line of the foot F.
The skate boot 10 also comprises lace members 80 with openings 90 for receiving inserts 100 as will be described in further detail below. The lace members 80 may be made of fabric, textile, leather or plastic and comprise apertures 40 for receiving laces. Eyelets 89 may be punched into the apertures 40 of lace members 80, outer shell 12 and inner lining 20 vis-à-vis apertures 40.
The outer shell 12 is 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 foot F respectively. These components form a foot receiving cavity that conforms to the general shape of the foot F. In addition, each of the medial and lateral side portions 50, 60 include a respective upper edge 51, 61 which connects to a respective lace member 80. The heel portion 44 may be thermoformed 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. The lateral depression 58 is located slightly lower than the medial depression 56, for conforming to the morphology of the foot F. 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. The medial and lateral side portions 50, 60 of the outer shell 12 extend forwardly from the heel and ankle portions 44, 46.
As shown in
As shown in
With reference to
More specifically, the left foot F is in a substantially flexed position while the right foot F is in a substantially extended position. On a traditional pair of skates, the flexibility of the skate boot 10 would not be adjustable and could possibly cause discomfort to the skater. For example, if the skate boot 10 is too flexible, this may provide for an insecure (loose) fit on the skater's foot F. On the other hand, if the skate boot 10 is too rigid, the skater may experience discomfort during various skating maneuvers as his or her feet F and ankles A may be over-restrained.
It is therefore a feature of the lace member 80 to allow the skater to adjust the flexibility of the skate boot 10.
Referring to
With specific reference to
As best seen in
As best shown in
The openings 90 extend from the top edge 87 of the top portion 86 of the lace member in a direction towards the bottom portion 88 of the lace member 80. Each of the openings 90 may have a substantially elongated shape defined by opposed walls 90A, opposed distal inclined walls 90B and opposed rounded walls 90C located between the opposed walls 90A and opposed distal inclined walls 90B (see
Although the openings 90 have been described in accordance with a specific embodiment, it is understood that the dimensions, orientation, position and number of the openings of the lace member 80 can vary from one embodiment to another.
In one embodiment, the lace member 80 may include five openings 90, each of which may have a length LO of approximately 1.25 cm. However, in other embodiments, the length LO of the openings can be between 0.5 cm and 3 cm and the lace member 80 may include three openings instead of five.
While each of the openings 90 are of similar shape, it should be noted that openings of a given lace member 80 may also be shaped differently from one another.
Furthermore, while the elongated openings 90 extend in a direction generally perpendicular to the top edge 87, openings of a give lace member 80 can be oriented in any other transversal direction relative to the top edge 87.
The openings 90 are preferably positioned in a region of the lace member 80 which is most likely to bend when the skater's foot is flexed or extended. This region of the lace member 80 is generally referred to as a flexion zone FZ (see
As best shown in
With reference to
The lace member 80 may be more flexible than the outer shell 12. For instance, the lace member 80 may be capable of in-plane bending (as depicted by bending arrows B1 in
With reference to
With reference to
Furthermore, the protrusions of a given insert need not be substantially similar in shape. Rather, the protrusions of a same insert can vary in shape from one another to fit in corresponding openings on a lace member 80. In such an embodiment, the openings of a given lace member 80 will also differ in shape as mentioned previously. For example, the openings located along a middle region of the flexion zone FZ can be larger to accommodate protrusions of larger size. This may be desirable as the middle region of the flexion zone FZ is likely to exhibit the most flexion forces when the skate boot 10 is in use.
In other embodiments, the insert can include a single protrusion which would fit in a single corresponding opening on the lace member 80. In yet other embodiments, it is not necessary that the number of protrusions on the insert and the number of openings on the lace member 80 be equal. For example, a greater number of openings than protrusions can be provided, thereby permitting a skater to select which openings to fill with one or more protrusions.
It is also understood that the main body portion 102 may be omitted such that the insert or inserts are separate single inserts, each defining a protrusion for registering in a given opening of the lace member 80.
In addition to modifying the shape of the inserts 100, 200, different inserts 100, 200 can be made of different materials having different hardness values. For example, inserts 100, 200 can be molded from any type of rubber such as natural rubber, isoprene rubber, polychloroprene, styrene butadiene rubber, etc.
Depending on the material, the inserts 100, 200, and/or their protrusions 104, 204 if the inserts have a body portion, may have hardness values between 20 Shore A and 70 Shore D. For example, a very hard insert may have a hardness value between 60 and Shore D, a hard insert may have a hardness value between 40 and 50 Shore D, a medium insert may have a hardness value between 20 and 30 Shore D, a soft insert may have a hardness value between 5 and 15 Shore D, and a very soft insert may have a hardness value between 15 and 25 Shore A. It is also understood that the insert may comprise a frame, skeleton or armature made of a relatively rigid material being covered or overmolded by a material having a hardness value lower from the one of the rigid material.
The inserts 100, 200 and/or the protrusions 104, 204 may be made of a material which is more flexible than the lace member 80 such that the protrusions 104, 204 can be compressed in the openings 90 when the lace member 80 experiences in-plane bending. Furthermore, in order to differentiate one insert from another, an insert with a particular characteristic can have a differentiating feature (such as a specific color). As such, if a skater were to lose (or damage) a preferred insert, the skater can easily identify and purchase a new replacement insert identical to the lost (or damaged) insert.
It can therefore be appreciated that a plurality of inserts 100, 200 can be produced with different specifications, thereby allowing a skater to at least partially define the amount of flexibility permitted in the flexion zone FZ of the lace member 80. The term “specification” may refer to any mechanical property or dimension of a given insert (such as hardness, density, shape, thickness, etc.).
Although the presence of the insert 100 in the lace member 80 may not substantially affect the level of out-of-plane bending, the insert 100 or insert 200 may affect the level of in-plane bending which occurs during flexion and extension of a skater's foot F. Nevertheless, if the skater determines that the natural resiliency of the lace member 80 without any inserts is adequate, the lace member can simply be used with the openings 90 free of any inserts.
The use of different inserts 100, 200 in combination with the lace member 80 will cause the lace member 80 to experience bending under different flexion modes. This will be described in further detail with reference to
In
In
Force vector F schematically depicts a force which would be exerted onto the lace member 80 in response to the flexion of a skater's foot. Force vector F is the same in both of
With continued reference to
Moreover, because of the different specifications of the inserts 1001, 1002, when the flexion force is no longer applied to the lace member 80, this lace member 80 may return to its initial position shown in solid lines according to different counter-forces.
In addition, it can be understood that the more the lace member 80 is bent, the more the top part of each protrusion of the insert is “pinched” (compressed). In this example, first insert 1001 has a higher hardness than second insert 1002. For instance, the first insert 1001 may have a hardness value higher than 30 Shore A while the second insert 1002 may have a hardness value lower than 30 Shore A, or the first insert 1001 may have a hardness value higher than 40 Shore A while the second insert 1002 may have a hardness value lower than 40 Shore A, or the first insert 1001 may have a hardness value higher than 50 Shore A while the second insert 1002 may have a hardness value lower than 50 Shore A, etc.
As such, the top part of each protrusion 1042 is pinched more than the top part of each protrusion 1041 for a same flexion force.
As such, the presence of a given insert in the openings 90 of the lace member 80 will modify the overall resiliency of the lace member 80 and define, at least in part, the flexion mode of the lace member 80 as it experiences flexion forces. In other words, for a given flexion force exerted on the lace member 80, the lace member 80 has a first flexion mode when a first insert is positioned in the openings 90 of the lace member 80, while the lace member 80 has a second flexion mode when a second insert is positioned in the openings 90 of the lace member 80, the first flexion mode being different from the second flexion mode.
It should be understood that the expression “flexion mode” should not be restricted to a particular position of the lace member 80. Rather, the expression “flexion mode” is meant to generally represent a range of positions achieved by a given lace member 80 as it reacts under an array of possible flexion forces.
Any feature of any embodiment discussed herein may be combined with any feature of any other embodiment discussed herein in some examples of implementation.
Various embodiments and examples have been presented for the purpose of describing, but not limiting, the invention. Various modifications and enhancements will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art and are within the scope of the invention, which is defined by the appended claims.
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| Entry |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20140259793 A1 | Sep 2014 | US |
