Skate Shoe Apparatus with Lateral Support Channel
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ice skate blades are prone to damage when skaters walk on non-ice surfaces, leading to poor edge quality and increased risk of ankle injuries due to inadequate lateral support from traditional blade guards.
Innovation Solution
A skate shoe apparatus designed for ice and roller skates, featuring a base portion with channel walls to receive the skate blade, support members for lateral rigidity, and a tread for traction, constructed from molded materials like rubberized or semi-flexible polymers, providing wider stability and protection from damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a narrow blade guard is used to protect the skate blade, then blade damage is prevented, but lateral support and stability are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The blade guard is extended laterally beyond the blade edges to provide ankle support, adding a new dimensional function (lateral stabilization) to the traditional blade protection device. This transformation turns a one-dimensional blade cover into a two-dimensional stabilizing structure that serves both protection and support functions.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a wider base portion is used to provide stability, then lateral support is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple functions (blade protection, ankle support, and traction) are merged into a single integrated blade guard structure. The widened base portion simultaneously provides lateral support and incorporates a tread pattern for ground traction, eliminating the need for separate components and reducing overall device complexity.
3Strength
If support members are added to the channel wall, then lateral rigidity is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The channel wall geometry is modified by adding triangular support members that extend from the upper region to the top surface. This geometric parameter change increases lateral rigidity and structural strength while maintaining compatibility with standard molding processes, thus not significantly increasing manufacturing complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A skate shoe apparatus may be used with a skate (e.g., an ice skate, a traditional roller skate or an inline skate) to provide a walking surface for a skater resembling that of a shoe or boot. The skate shoe apparatus includes a channel to receive a lower travel surface of a skate and support members to provide support (e.g., lateral support) for the skate and distribute lateral forces produced by the skate across the skate shoe apparatus. Additionally, the skate shoe apparatus prevents damage to the travel surface of a skate and increased safety when a skater wearing the skate walks on non-skating surfaces (e.g., walking in ice skates from a dressing area to the ice or across a parking lot to an arena or walking in traditional roller skates or inline skates in a store or restaurant).