Skate Boot Tendon Guard with Adjustable Flexion Insert
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Solution Overview
Problem
Tendon guards in skate boots can be too rigid, limiting foot flexibility and affecting skating performance, as they are often designed with a fixed level of flexibility that may not suit individual preferences or skating styles.
Innovation Solution
A skate boot design featuring a tendon guard with a recess for receiving an insert, allowing adjustment between different flexion modes by selecting from various inserts, enabling customization of flexibility to accommodate different skating needs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a tendon guard is made rigid to provide protection, then protection capability is improved, but foot flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The tendon guard is designed with a dynamic structure that includes a recess for receiving an insert, allowing the flexibility characteristics to be changed. The guard can transition between different flexion modes by inserting or removing inserts, making the protection device adaptable to different skating needs while maintaining protection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the flexibility parameter of the tendon guard by using different inserts with varying material properties and geometric characteristics. By selecting inserts with different stiffness values, the overall flexibility of the tendon guard can be adjusted to match the skater's preferences and skating style requirements.
2Ease of operation
If a tendon guard is made flexible to accommodate foot movement, then foot flexibility is improved, but protection capability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The tendon guard system combines different materials with complementary properties. The base guard structure provides protection, while the removable inserts (made of materials like thermoplastic elastomers or rigid plastics) adjust the flexibility characteristics. This composite approach allows both protection and flexibility to coexist in different configurations.
3Device complexity
If a tendon guard has fixed flexibility to simplify design, then device complexity is reduced, but adaptability to different skating styles is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The tendon guard is segmented into a base structure and removable insert components. This segmentation allows the base guard to maintain a simple protective function, while the interchangeable inserts provide adaptability for different skating styles, skill levels, and personal preferences without significantly complicating the overall design.
Solution Approach 2:
The tendon guard system is designed with universal adaptability through the insert mechanism. A single base guard design can accommodate multiple inserts with different flexibility characteristics, making the system universally applicable to various skating styles (recreational, competitive, artistic) and individual preferences, thereby achieving multi-functionality.
Data Source
AI summary
A skate boot comprising an outer shell with a heel portion for receiving the heel of the foot; an ankle portion for receiving the ankle, the ankle portion comprising a rear portion for facing at least partially the lower part of the Achilles tendon; and medial and lateral side portions for facing the medial and lateral sides of the foot respectively. The skate boot also comprises a tendon guard extending upwardly from the ankle portion of the outer shell for facing at least partially the upper part of the Achilles tendon, the tendon guard comprising a recess for receiving an insert. The tendon guard has a first flexion mode when no insert is received in the recess and a second flexion mode when the insert is received in the recess. The second flexion mode is different from the first flexion mode.