CA 0221~771 1997-09-18 SKATE BOOT
The present invention relates to a skate boot, and particularly to an ice-skate boot or an inline roller-wheel skate.
The developments of skate boots in the last twenty years have been in the direction of a more rigid boot partly because of the advent of molded plastic shells for the construction of skate boots. Such tech-niques have allowed a more rigid construction of the uppers, presumably to increase performance, and to improve the protection of the player. However, there is little consideration for the anatomy or the biome-chanics of the foot. The foot is a very complex biome-chanical structure with scores of articulates bones, cartilage and muscles. When the foot is encased in a conventional molded plastic shell, little of the mechanical advantages of the complex leverage movements can be transferred to the runner, i.e. blade or inline rollers, because of the rigidity of the shell.
The rigid shell forming the upper, in conventional molded skate boots, is uncomfortable Various soft inner boots or slippers have been designed for use with such rigid boots to be adapted and to be formed to the foot of the wearer. However, the skate is not therefore responsive to the thrust of the foot.
Some of the force being transferred to the foot later-ally, or torquewise, is loss due to the movement of the slipper relative to the shell. This power loss is espe-cially noticeable in high performance skates utilized by professional hockey players. Such inner boots of slippers are therefore separate elements within the shell subject to its own independent movement with the foot.
It is an aim of the present invention to provide a skate boot which is comfortable while provid-ing a high degree of performance.
CA 0221~771 1997-09-18 It is a further aim of the present invention to provide a skate boot which is designed respecting anatomy and biomechanical aspects of the foot.
It is a further aim of the present invention to provide a boot which has a relatively rigid upper and provided with selected flexible portions to allow suitable flexion extension about the ankle.
It is a further aim of the present invention to provide a boot with a rigid shell which surrounds the foot and is in contact with the foot only through selected, strategically located, pads which effectively suspend the foot in the shell.
It is a further aim of the present invention to provide a rigid toe box for a skate boot which respects the asymmetric anatomy of the articulated metatarsus and toes.
It is a further aim of the present invention to provide a boot upper having a lateral quarter and a medial quarter which are asymmetric and mostly rigid.
It is a further aim of the present invention to provide a pair of flexible compressible wall portions provided in the lateral a medial quarters but aligned in a plane containing the general flexion and extension movements of the foot in relation to the ankle.
It is a further aim of the present invention to provide a pair of fastening rows and tongue which extend in the lower part over the vamp, on either side of an axis extending parallel to and between the third and fourth metatarsus. The upper part of the lacing is provided on either side of an axis which is aligned with the upper anterior portion of the ankle and which is offset from the axis of the lacing in the lower part thereof.
It is a further aim of the present invention to provide a tongue which extends from the toe box in the area of the vamp and which is coincident with the CA 0221~771 1997-09-18 lacing on the lower part of the upper and which extends offset to be oriented with the lacing in the upper part of the upper.
In one aspect of the present invention there is provided a toe box having a rigid one piece shell for a skate boot having a sole with a toe portion, a heel portion, the toe box having a lower edge coinci-dent with the sole in the toe portion and the rear edge thereof defines the extent of the shell which is asym-metric and has a somewhat parabolic outline between aportion coincident with the joint of the first metatar-sus and the respective phalange, and another portion coincident with the joint of the fifth metatarsus and the respective phalange.
A construction in accordance with another aspect of the present invention comprises an upper for a skate boot having a medial quarter and a lateral quarter and defining a first pair of parallel fastening rows along the front edges of each quarters, at least in the vamp area of the boot, and the median axis of the rows extends between the third and fourth metatar-sus of the foot.
More specifically the front edges of the lateral and medial quarters include a second pair of fastening rows above the first pair that are offset from the first pair and aligned with the anterior portion of an ankle.
In a further construction of the present invention the medial quarter and the lateral quarter are each provided with a flexible compressible area aligned in a common axis which extends in the medial dorsal area and posterior lateral area in order to permit flexion and extension of the foot about the axis of the ankle during the skating action.
In another aspect of the present invention there are provided spaced apart pads fixed to the inte-rior of the upper wherein the pads include at least a CA 0221~771 1997-09-18 medial metatarsal pad between the base and the head of the first metatarsus, in the horizontal, a lateral metatarsal pad near the head of the fifth metatarsus, in horizontal, a vamp pad in the dorsal area of the metatarsal flange joints, a medial ankle pad having a vertical component and a horizontal component just behind and below the ankle protrusion and an asymmetri-cal lateral ankle pad having a vertical component and a horizontal component and extending in the boot just behind and below the ankle.
In a further aspect of the present invention there is provided an inner sole being a relatively deep recess in the heel portion of the sole with a 5~ slope in the forward direction, a pronounced parabolic arch extending so that the apex of the arch is at the cuneiform medial while the front of the foot pad has a 7~ inclination towards the front with the exclusion of the first metatarsus in a cuboid bump relative to the location of the cuboid is provided in the lateral portion of the foot bed.
Having thus generally described the nature of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, showing by way of illustration, a preferred embodiment thereof, and in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a boot in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 2 is a side elevation taken from the medial side of the skate boot;
Figure 3 is a front elevation thereof;
Figure 4 is a side elevation taken from the lateral side of the skate boot;
Figure 5 is a rear elevation thereof;
Figure 6 is a side elevation taken from the medial side showing the spatial arrangement of the pads and foot bed of the present invention;
Figure 7 is a front elevation of the spatial arrangement shown in Figure 6;
CA 0221~771 1997-09-18 Figure 8 is a side elevation taken from the lateral side of the spatial arrangement shown in Figures 6 and 7; and Figure 9 is a rear elevation thereof.
Referring now to Figs. 1 to 5 there is shown a skate 10 including a boot 12, a blade support 14, and blade 16. The blade support 14 and the blade 16 are of conventional construction. It is also understood that the skate boot 12 can be utilized with an inline roller skate support with similar advantages. The skate boot 10 includes an upper formed with a rigid toe box 18, a lateral quarter 20 and a medial quarter 22. A sole 24 is also provided to which the blade support is fixed.
The toe box 18 includes a lower edge 26 coincident with the edge of the sole 24, the toe box 18 extends rearwardly on the medial side and on the dorsal portion to cover the first metatarsus and must extend laterally rearwardly to cover the fifth metatarsus.
The rear edge 28 of the box 18 defines a somewhat parabolic curve in the area of the vamp to coincide with the joints of the second, third, and fourth metatarsus. The toe box should be one-piece molded, rigid plastic material with means provided for fastening the tongue 38 as will be described.
The upper includes a lateral quarter 20 and a medial quarter 22 which may be two asymmetric inde-pendent pieces joined together in the area of the Achilles tendon or may be a one piece molded plastic shell.
The lateral quarter 20 includes an eyelet row 30 which is aligned with the fourth metatarsus. The lateral quarter is fixed along its edge to the sole 24 and forwardly along the rear edge 28 of the toe box 18.
The upper portion of the forward edge 30a of the lateral quarter 20 is offset from the alignment of the eyelet row 30 in order that it would be symmetrical with the anterior portion of the ankle.
CA 0221~771 1997-09-18 The medial quarter 22 as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 includes an eyelet row 32 which is aligned with the second metatarsus. The gap between the eyelet rows 30 and 32 is offset with respect to the longitudi-nal axis of the boot as best seen in Fig. 3. The medial quarter 22 is joined at its lower edge to the sole 24 and at its forward edge to the rear edge 28 of the toe box 18. The upper edge 32a of the medial quarter 22 is offset from the alignment of the eyelet row 32 and along with the upper forward edge 30a of quarter 20 to form a gap which is in alignment with the anterior portion of the ankle, that is with the longitudinal axis of the boot. Thus, in appearance the lacing gap appears to be scewered when seen from the front view as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.
A lacing band 34 having forwardly extending pairs of fingers 34a and 34b is loosely mounted to the rear of the boot with the fingers extending forwardly and presenting lacing hooks 40. The lacing band 34 is fixed at least at one point to the rear portion of the upper, at least in the area of the Achilles tendon. The fingers 34a and 34b on either side of the boot 12 are not directly connected to their respective quarters 20 and 22. Thus, when it is necessary to mount the boot the lacing 31 is first passed through the pairs of eye-lets 30 and 32 and then crossed over the hook 40 of fingers 34a and 34b on either side of the boot.
The tongue is attached in the vamp portion to the toe box 18 at its rear edge 28. The tongue extends from the lateral portion of the first metatar-sus to the medial portion of the fifth metatarsus. The tongue 28 is fixed along its lateral edge to the lateral quarter 20. The tongue includes a contour that follows the gap between the lower eyelet rows 30 and 32 and the gap formed between the upper edges 30a and 32a to extend over the curved gap portion between them to just pass over the malleolus.
CA 0221~771 1997-09-18 It is necessary to provide a skate boot having a rigid boot thereby providing a rigid lever in order to obtain the maximum propulsion force in the power stroke. However, conventional rigid boots are uncomfortable and do not allow certain important move-ments necessary for skating.
It is known that the axis of the inferior astragalus permits complex eversion/inversion and adduction and abduction. The axis of the inferior astragalus completes the function of the ankle when pressure is applied as well as when pressure is released. However, under pressure, the extension of the ankle draws the head of the astragalus in adduction causing the pronation of the axis of the inferior astragalus. Since skating is partially without pressure being applied to the ankle, it is thus necessary to block the pronation about this axis without limiting the amplitude of necessary ankle movement. This is in order to obtain a rigid lever without restraining the mobility of the ankle.
At the beginning of a power stroke the ankle has an extension movement of between 10~ and 25~.
However, this extension provokes the adduction of the head of the astragalus causing a pronation movement which is proportional to the loss of power energy. By blocking the tibia-astragalus-calcaneum joint the skate is more rigid. However, when one changes speed, the ankle must be mobile. Thus, by stabilizing and fixing the foot within the skate boot while allowing the move-ment of the ankle, the general skating efficiency canbe improved.
Since the skating stroke is partially with-out pressure on the foot, as compared to walking or running, the movements of the foot can be limited by blocking the foot within the skate so as to provide the rigid lever.
CA 0221~771 1997-09-18 The axis of the ankle is of the prona-tion/supination type to provide a flexion and extension of the foot. During skating, the ankle must be allowed to move between 10~ and 25~ either in flexion or in extension but no greater. More specifically, the ankle pivots at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the boot and the plane of this flexion/extension is referred to as a dorsal medial flexion in the gliding portion of the stroke while the ankle must flex 10~ to 25~ in the post lateral direction in the same plane during the power phase of the stroke. Thus, the medial quarter 22 includes a cutout portion with a compressible insert 23 provided therein. The compressible insert 23 may be of a somewhat oval outline and made of a corrugated plas-tic material with the ribs of the corrugated plastic member 23 extending in the same direction as the pleats formed in the skin during flexion. The insert 23 could be made of other compressible flexible materials including compressible metals having memory, an air bladder or other spring-like materials. The insert 23 can be sewn or otherwise adhered along its edges to the cutout edge in the medial quarter 22. The center of the insert can be located at a point considered a medial dorsal to the junction of the cartilage to the head of the astragalus.
A similar lateral compressible insert 21 is provided in the lateral quarter and the center of this insert is fixed to the apex of the peroneus and the Achilles tendon. This insert 21 permits planter flexion during the power stroke.
A plurality of distinct pads are strategi-cally located on the inner surface of the upper of the boot 12. These pads can be glued to the inner shell and covered by a liner such as a leather liner similar to a conventional construction of the boot. Although the location of these pads are shown in dotted lines in Figs. 2 through 5, they are shown in Figs. 6 to 9 in CA 0221~771 1997-09-18 their relative position to the foot. Medial pad 44 and lateral pad 46 are provided in asymmetric relation on either side of the foot. Even though pads 44, 46 are identical, they are located in asymmetrical relation as shown in Figs. 6 and 8 for instance. The medial meta-tarsal pad 44 has a somewhat quadrilateral shape and is located coincident with the base and the head of the first metatarsus. The pad must be convex in the area of contact with the foot in the horizontal axis and must also be convex in its vertical axis, thus it must have somewhat of a dome shape. The lateral metatarsal pad 46 is located in a position coincident with the location between the tubercle and the head of the fifth metatar-sus in a horizontal axis. The pad 46 must be convex both in the vertical and horizontal axes. When the boot is laced the medial metatarsal pad 44 and the lateral metatarsal pad 46 protect the first metatarsus and the fifth and fourth metatarsus, respectively. When the boot is laced the pads 44, 46 will provide a stabiliz-ing force to prevent movement of the foot relative tothe boot.
The vamp pad 48 is located in the vamp area of the boot which covers the proximal portions of the second to the fifth phalanges in the dorsal area of the metatarsus and phalange joints. This pad 48 is gener-ally banana-shaped. The pad 48 acts to prevent limited movement of the foot forwardly of the boot. The lateral malleolal pad 52 extends between the Achilles tendon and the ankle in the vertical axis filling up the concave area therein and extends downwardly to the post-lateral upper tubercle of the calcaneum by forming a hook. The horizontal component of the malleolal pad 52 extends forward to end just above the cuboid.
The medial malleolal pad 50 extends between the Achilles tendon and the ankle. The malleolal pad 50 has an overall J-shape with a horizontal component extending forwardly into proximity with the tubercle of CA 0221~771 1997-09-18 the scaphoid. Pads 50 and 52 block the foot within the shell of the skate boot and will prevent the adduction of the head of the astragalus and will support the sustentaculum tali, limiting the pronation of the astragalus axis. These two pads 50 and 52 are asym-metric and follow the anatomical form of the foot. Pads 50 and 52 further fill the concave area on either side of the foot behind the ankle and form a wedge to block the foot on the inside of the boot. Thus, it can be seen that these pads will prevent relative movement of the foot in the boot, thereby contributing to the reduction on energy loss.
Although not shown, a further pad can be provided in the end of the toe box 18 to eliminate the necessity of manufacturing half sizes or to compensate for the growing foot of a child.
An inner sole or foot bed 54 is provided.
First of all, a deep, narrow recess 53 is shown in dotted lines and located in their calcaneum bed por-tion 56. Recess 53 may be 8mm to 9mm deep. The surfaceof the calcaneum slopes at 5~ to the horizontal and the slope extends downwardly forwardly. Thus when the axis of the inferior astragalus is in supination the power muscles have mechanical advantage. In view of this mechanical advantage during the gliding stroke, the axis need not have a large amplitude of movement. In fact the movement of this axis must be restricted. By positioning the calcaneum at a slope of 5~ the axis can be maintained in a position of supination. The muscle leverage is thus increased and the amplitude of move-ment of the forward portion of the foot is decreased, thereby stabilizing the forward foot portion and increasing the force of the power stroke. By relocating the calcaneum at a 5~ angle, the functional axes of the foot are reoriented, thereby optimizing the stability of the foot. The deep recess 53 provides sidewalls which limit the lateral movement of the calcaneum CA 0221~771 1997-09-18 within the boot and further controls the pronation force of the axis of the astragalus.
The arch 58 of the foot bed 54 is in the form of a parabola extending from the planter tubercle medial of the calcaneum to the head of the first meta-tarsus. The apex of this parabola is located in the medial cuneiform. The height of the apex is determined by the size of the boot (for a 9~ North American men size, the apex is 33mm high).
The forward portion of the innersole has a 7~ slope towards the front but excluding the first metatarsus. This provides the most efficient leverage for the power stroke in the skating cycle. The foot bed 54 includes a forward portion which extends below the heads of the fourth and fifth metatarsus including the toe. The foot bed extension has a thickness of about 3mm. A cuboid bump 60 of semi-circular shape has an apex of about 4mm and is located as shown in Fig. 8.
The material used for the foot bed 54 must be flexible, light and resilient. A multifoam material would be useful in this regard.