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Multi-hinged skate and methods for construction of the same

a multi-hinged, skate technology, applied in the field of multi-hinged skates, can solve the problems of concentrating all of the load at the pivots, the connection between the foot and the lower leg is more complicated than that of a simple hinge, and the single pivot is difficult to locate exactly at the ankle joint, so as to reduce the load of individual pins and increase the ventilation effect of cooling

Inactive Publication Date: 2007-05-24
ERDMAN ARTHUR G
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The multi-hinged design reduces the effort needed for ankle movement, decreases material usage and weight, enhances cooling, and offers greater design flexibility, allowing for customization and improved braking performance.

Problems solved by technology

Unfortunately, the single pivot is difficult to locate exactly at the ankle joint, which is understood by those skilled in biomechanics to lie generally along an axis through the bony protuberances on the side of the ankle.
More particularly, neither the lower leg nor the foot are made up of a single bone structure, and the connection between the foot and lower leg is more complicated than that of a simple hinge.
Another disadvantage of using the current rivet-type technology is that all of the load transferred at the pivot joint is concentrated at the pivots.
While the extra material resists unwanted boot deflection due to longitudinal, lateral and torsion loads, it also results in more costly manufacture, heavier boots and concern for long term fatigue problems.
There are other problems and limitations with the current boot technology.
Thus the cuff and lower boot have size and load requirements that add to the weight of the boot, add to the cost of manufacture, and adversely impact heat dissipation.
In fact, the design requirements of the single hinge approach to the flexion—extension issue restrict the number of options available to a boot designer.
Also, the mechanical advantage of the two link brake is limited and nearly constant during braking.

Method used

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  • Multi-hinged skate and methods for construction of the same
  • Multi-hinged skate and methods for construction of the same
  • Multi-hinged skate and methods for construction of the same

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

first embodiment

[0030] The lower portion 12 includes an undercarriage 22 and either rollers 32 for an in-line skate application or a blade (not shown) for an ice skate use. Lower portion 12 also includes inner padding 35, a heal section 36, a midsection 37, a toe section 38, one or more lower buckles 39 and a lower attachment section 40. The lower attachment section 40 includes lower attachment points 54. In the present invention shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, lower attachment points 54 consist of revolute joints 60, 62.

[0031] The upper cuff 14 includes an outer surface 51, an upper attachment section 44, inner padding 46, an upper buckle 48, a rear portion 49 and may include a downwardly extending Achilles tendon portion 49A. The upper attachment section 44 includes upper attachment points 54′. Upper attachment points 54′ consist of revolute joints 64, 66 in the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] Intermediate portion 16 includes a pair of rigid members 50, 52 on each of the medial and late...

second embodiment

[0059] The intermediate portion 116 of the second embodiment is designed to guide upper cuff 114 relative to the lower portion 112 based on anatomical motion. The intermediate portion 116 includes rigid member 150 that has a variety of possible lengths and a roller 152 that has a variety of possible positions. The shape of rigid member 150 is restricted only by the selected locations of pins 160 and 166. The three dimensional geometry of rigid member 150 is accordingly left to the designer based on perceived force load, boot shape and artistic look.

[0060] The locations of pins 160, 166, slot 170 as well as rigid member 150 are again selected by methods of kinematic design called kinematic synthesis. Lower portion 112, rigid member 150, upper cuff 114 and roller 152 make up a four link chain of links which is different in form from that of the first embodiment. The form of the four link chain is sometimes called a crank-slider mechanism. The four bar chain of the second embodiment an...

third embodiment

[0069] The lower attachment section 240 of the third embodiment includes slots 260, 270 that receive the load from the upper cuff 214 through the intermediate portion 216. There are many permissible locations of slots 260, 270 which can be selected through kinematic synthesis.

[0070] The upper attachment section 214 includes upper attachment points 254′. Upper attachment points 254′ consist of revolute joints 264 and 266 that may assume a number of different locations.

[0071] The intermediate portion 216 of the third embodiment has been designed to guide upper cuff 214 relative to the lower portion 212 based on anatomical motion. The intermediate portion 216 includes rollers 250 and 252.

[0072] The locations of pins 264, 266, slots 260, 270 and rollers 250 and 252 are again selected through kinematic synthesis. Lower 212, upper cuff 214 and rollers 250, 252 make up a four-bar chain of links which is different in form from that of the first and second embodiments. The four bar chain o...

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PUM

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Abstract

An improved hinge system for pivotally coupling a skate lower portion to a skate upper cuff. The multi-hinge design incorporates a four link chain mechanism that greatly increases the number of design options for a hinged boot. The pivot axis defined by the four link chain can be designed to shift through a path of travel that generally coincides with the path of travel of the anatomical pivot axis defined by the user's foot and leg. The upper cuff and boot lower portion account for two of the four links of the four link mechanism. The other two links are either rigid bars with pin connections on both the upper cuff and the lower portion, or roller links with a pin connection to the upper and a slot like sliding surface on the lower portion. A slider link can be substituted for the roller and a slide surface can be substituted for the slot.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This is a Continuation of application Ser. No. 10 / 429,202 filed May 2, 2003, which is a Continuation of application Ser. No. 10 / 151,976 filed May 20, 2002, and now U.S. Pat. No. 6,595,529, which is a Continuation of application Ser. No. 09 / 435,972 filed Nov. 8, 1999, and now U.S. Pat. No. 6,431,558, which is a Continuation of application Ser. No. 08 / 820,588 filed Mar. 19, 1997, and now abandonded, which in turn claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 60 / 013,681 filed Mar. 19, 1996, each of the foregoing applications hereby incorporated by reference.TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] This invention pertains to boots for skates. In particular, it pertains to an improved hinge system connecting the lower boot to the upper boot cuff of an ice or in-line skate. BACKGROUND ART [0003] Skate boots for ice skates or in-line land based skates are well known. The majority of conventional skate boots are made from molded synthetic resins. Traditional...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): A63C3/02A43B5/16A63C17/06A63C17/14
CPCA43B5/1608A43B5/1691A63C17/06A63C17/1436A63C2017/1481
Inventor ERDMAN, ARTHUR G.
Owner ERDMAN ARTHUR G