Skate boot with flexble midfoot section

Abstract

A skate boot or other piece of footwear is provided with a flexible midfoot section that is not rigidly connected to either a sole and / or base of the boot, in order to adjustably tighten around the bottom, sides, and / or top of the wearer's midfoot to provide arch support and uniform snugness. The midfoot section is in a “hammock” type arrangement while the bail and heel portions of the wearer's foot rests on the footbed over the respective sole portions.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]The instant application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61 / 622,808, filed Apr. 11, 2012, pending, the entire specification of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates generally to footwear, such as shoes or boots, and, more specifically to footwear, such as but not limited to ice skating boots, having a flexible midfoot section that is not rigidly connected to either a sole and / or base of the boot, in order to adjustably tighten around the bottom, sides, and / or top of the wearer's midfoot to provide arch support and uniform snugness.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Conventional ice skating boots are typically constructed with concave arch portions. The arch portion thus defines an internal or interior arch cavity (i.e., a cavity inside the boot) relative to the wearer's foot, especially in proximity to the foot's arch. That is, when the wea...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides better skimming boots and other footwear with a flexible midfoot section that can adjustably tighten around the wearer's midfoot to provide arch support and uniform snugness. The midfoot section is in a "hammock" type arrangement while the ball and heel portions of the wearer's foot rests on the footbed over the respective sole portions. This leads to improved performance and comfort for the wearer.

Problems solved by technology

The presence of the arch cavity may be a problem for individuals with any type of feet when skating in conventional boots.

The presence of arch cavities in boots cause the skater's foot to collapse into the arch cavity due to the foot's high arch.

Needless to say, skating performance would be expected to significantly suffer under these circumstances.

The problem of arch cavities may be due to the trend of conventional skating boots being made from shoe or boot last shapes that are concave through the arch portion of the foot bed or sole, because of the “toe spring” shape needed for walking.

Because of these different mechanical conditions being present, the ice skater's foot needs constant support against the arch, and, with an arch cavity being present, the muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments of the foot (especially in proximity to the arch) can become stressed and / or injured as the foot (especially the arch) repeatedly collapses (or attempts to collapse) into this cavity.

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