Molded plastics skate boot

A unitary one-piece molded plastic skate, for use with ice or roller skate runners, has a lower shell portion and an upper portion shell portion with the upper shell portion comprising a tendon guard and side ankle flaps, the tendon guard portion of the upper being integrally molded to form a hinge with the rear heel portion of the lower portion. The side ankle flaps overlap upward extensions of side walls of the lower shell portion. A mold apparatus for forming the one-piece skate boot and said mold apparatus including a core formed to the inner shape of the skate boot and having an upstanding leg portion with the thin walled sleeve fixed to the upstanding portion and having a downwardly extending skirt which, in the molding operation, is in contact at the edge thereof with the mold cavities so as to form the flaps of the upper portion but to leave a hinge portion at the heel rear.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to boot constructions, and particularly to a 
skate boot made of molded plastic material. 
2. Description of Prior Art 
In conventional plastic skate boots, it is necessary to provide a first 
lower portion including a sole made of rigid plastics material and a 
hinged anklet or upper. The hinged anklet is pivoted to the lower portion, 
normally about an axis below the ankle of one's foot. The lower portion 
per se is designed such that the heel portion thereof extends only up to a 
person's ankle while the upper portion gives protection and support for 
the remaining height of a normal skate boot, including the tendon guard. A 
skate boot requires both rigidity in the lower portion in the lateral 
direction but flexibility in the longitudinal plane of the skate boot as 
well as laterally in the area of the ankle. Such conventional plastics 
boots provide a limited amount of lateral rigidity and longitudinal and 
upper flexibility and are normally a compromise of both. 
SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
It is an aim of the present invention to provide an improved one-piece 
plastic skate boot, with improved lateral rigidity in the lower portion, 
and uncompromised longitudinal and lateral flexibility for the wearer's 
foot and ankle. 
It is a further aim of the present invention to provide a one-piece molded 
plastic boot in which the upper is hinged to the lower to allow the upper 
to flex relative to the lower. 
It is a further aim of the present invention to provide a mold for 
producing a one-piece plastics boot having the upper portion relatively 
independent from the lower portion and hinged thereto. 
It is an aim of the present invention to provide a simpler and more 
inexpensive method of producing skate boots or the like in which the lower 
portion and upper are formed in one step, thus reducing the cost of 
producing the boot, yet providing a boot with superior flexibility where 
required. 
In the present description, a molded lower portion includes the sole, 
sides, heel and lacing area, that of the lower shell of the boot. The 
upper portion is the separate anklet and tendon guard which is hinged to 
the lower portion. 
A construction in accordance with the present invention comprises a boot 
including a molded lower portion comprising a toe, sole, side walls and 
heel portion, and a molded upper portion integrally connected at the rear 
of the heel of the lower portion and including forwardly extending flaps 
overlapping the side walls and a rear upward tendon guard extension. The 
flaps extend towards the front of the boot and define with the lower 
portion, an access opening and securing means for closing said opening and 
firmly securing said lower portion and upper portion to the foot of a 
wearer. 
In a more specific embodiment of a boot in accordance with the present 
invention, the heel portion of the lower portion includes a thickened 
portion at the hinge with the upper portion, the heel of the lower portion 
merges with the top edge of the side walls and defines a plane which 
extends upwardly and forwardly from the hinge area to terminate and merge 
with the edges of the side walls defining the access slot forming the 
access opening of the lower portion. The upper portion has flaps which 
overlap the upstanding side walls and which terminate at the access slot 
defined by the side walls and are sufficient to cover the ankle of a 
wearer of the boot. 
An apparatus for forming a one-piece molded boot in accordance with the 
present invention includes a pair of molds adapted to separate at the 
median plane extending along the longitudinal axis of the boot to be 
formed, each mold piece having a cavity adapted to the outer contour of 
the boot to be formed, a core insertable in the mold cavities, the core 
including a first member in the form of a foot and a second member in the 
form of a sleeve affixed to the rear of the core first member and 
including a frontwardly and downwardly extending skirt in the area of the 
side walls to be formed, the skirt overlapping and being spaced from the 
wall surface of the first member of the core for forming the side wall 
extensions of the lower portion underlapping the flaps of the upper 
portion.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 5, there is shown a skate boot 10 to which 
is attached a blade 8 such that the skate can be used for ice skating. An 
identical boot 10 can be provided with a roller skating truck for the 
purposes of utilizing the boot for roller skating. 
The boot 10 includes a lower portion 12 and an upper portion 14. The lower 
portion includes a toe 16, a sole 18, and a heel 20 as well as side walls 
22 and 24. Each side wall 22 and 24 defines an access opening at the 
metatarsal area by means of the edges 26 and 28. Along the edges 26 and 28 
are typical eyelets 30 for the purpose of passing a lace. 
The heel 20, as shown in FIG. 5, has a thickened material portion at the 
hinge area 40 and extends into the tendon guard 32 wall portion of the 
upper portion 14 on the other hand. The tendon guard portion 32 is 
integral with the lower portion only in the hinge area 40. The upper 
portion 14 has frontwardly extending ankle protecting flaps 34 and 36 
defined by lower edges 50 and 52 respectively. The front edges 53 and 55 
define an extension of the access opening, and eyelets 37 for laces are 
provided near these edges 53 and 55. 
As can be seen in FIG. 2, the flaps can move completely independently of 
the side walls 22 and 24 and overlap upwardly extending portions of the 
side walls 22 and 24 as indicated by the upward extensions 46 and 48 
respectively. The top edge of the side walls of the lower portion 12 is 
defined by the numerals 42 and 44. The outline of the underlapped side 
wall extensions 46 and 48 is shown in dotted lines in FIGS. 1 and 3. 
As can be seen from the drawings and the above description, the upper 
portion 14 has a hinging movement in the longitudinal direction of the 
boot, thereby giving the wearer good longitudinal flex. The lower portion, 
including the side walls 22 and 24, can be relatively rigid by increasing 
the thickness of the material forming the side wall, but the upper portion 
portion of the boot, including the flaps 34 and 36, has some lateral 
flexing freedom in the area of the ankle, particularly since the edges 50 
and 52 of the upper are not attached to the lower 12. 
The manufacture of this one-piece skate boot 10 is made possible by the use 
of the core 54 illustrated along with conventional mold cavities 64 and 
66, as shown in FIGS. 9 through 11. The core has a foot portion 56 to 
which is attached a flexible thin-walled sleeve portion 58 which is 
connected or rivet-welded to the foot portion 56 at the rear and sides 
thereof, for instance, at 67. Rivet welding includes the provision of 
apertures 60a in the sleeve 60 and projections 56a on the core portion 56. 
The projections 56a protrude through the apertures 60a and are welded at 
67. The sleeve members 60 and 62 on either side forming part of the sleeve 
58 are connected at the front to a core projection such that a space is 
left between the sleeve members 60 and 62 and the surface of the core 56. 
When plastics material is being injected into the mold, it extends between 
the sleeve portions 60 and 62 and the surface of the core 56 to form the 
upward extensions 46 and 48 of the side walls 22 and 24 respectively, as 
shown in FIG. 11. 
The skirt edge 61 and 63 is the bottom edge of the sleeve members 60 and 
62. When it is necessary to form the boot 10, the core 56 with the sleeve 
58 is located in the mold cavities 64 and 66 which are then closed on 
either side of the core 56 and plastics material is injected therein to 
form the boot. The mold cavity is selected such that it is in contact with 
the sleeve skirt edges 61 and 63 at the bottom edge thereof to define the 
flap edges 50 and 52, as shown in FIG. 11. Likewise, the top portion of 
the sleeve is in contact with the core 56 to define the top edges of the 
side wall projections such as at 42 and 44 also as shown in FIG. 11. 
Another embodiment of the boot is illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13. In this 
figure, the boot which includes the same reference numerals as in FIGS. 1 
to 5, has a stop strap 70 which is anchored to the side walls 22 and 24 by 
means of anchor pins 72 and 74. The strap is provided for limiting 
backward flexing of the upper. The strap includes a pair of ends 76 and 
78. The strap 70 has a generally U-shaped configuration and passes 
completely around the rear of the upper at the tendon guard 32. The 
characteristics of the boot shown in the embodiment of FIGS. 12 and 13, 
particularly with respect to ice skates, are similar to those provided 
with traditional leather skate boots. The resistance of the traditional 
leather skate boot to the backward flexing motion is well known. The strap 
70 contributes to restricting the backward flexibility of the boot as in a 
leather skate boot. However, the stop strap 70 is so constructed and 
arranged that it does not restrict forward and lateral movement of the 
boot 10 of the present invention to thereby provide characteristics 
similar to the leather boot. 
The foregoing description is provided to illustrate the present invention 
but is not intended to limit the scope thereof to the specific 
constructions set forth. Clearly, numerous additions, modifications or 
other changes can be made without departing from the scope of the 
invention as set forth in the appended claims.