Abstract:
An adjustable skate boot has an adjustable boot shell of multiple, rigid pieces, and an adjustable liner adapted to provide an inner cushion for the shell. The soft, padded tricot liner has a fore portion and a heel portion which are adapted to be overlapped in use, the amount of overlap being adjustable for accommodating feet of different sizes. Hook-and-loop fasteners provide a releasable engagement for connecting the fore and heel portions of the liner. Methods of adjusting the liner are also disclosed.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to liners for skate and ski boots and the like. 
     Sport boots, such as for in-line skates and skis, typically have shells formed of a rigid material, such as molded plastic. Inner booties or liners are generally provided for such boots, for cushioning, comfort and fit. 
     Some sport boots are adjustable in length to accommodate feet of different sizes, such as the in-line skate boot disclosed in my pending U.S. Application Ser. No. 09/017,420, filed Feb. 2, 1998. Adjustability of the size of sport boots advantageously lowers the number of skates needed to be kept as inventory by rental facilities, for instance, enables such boots to be readily shared, and also reduces the number of boots needed over the course of a child&#39;s growth. 
     Summary of the Invention 
     The invention described herein features an improved liner for adjustable sport boots, such as those having rigid shells which enclose the wearer&#39;s foot, which is adapted to provide an inner cushion for the shell. 
     According to one aspect, the liner includes a fore portion and a heel portion. The fore portion has a fore upper and a fore sole, the fore upper and fore sole together defining a toe box, and a liner tongue extending rearward from the toe box. The heel portion has a heel upper and a heel sole, and defines a cavity for receiving a heel of a wearer. The fore and heel portions have respective surfaces arranged to overlap each other in use, the amount of overlap of the respective surfaces being adjustable for accommodating feet of different sizes. 
     Various embodiments may contain one or more of the following features. The respective surfaces include portions of respective side walls of the fore and heel uppers extending upward from the fore and heel soles, respectively. Inner surfaces of the side walls of the fore upper engage outer surfaces of the side walls of the heel upper. The fore sole is arranged to overlap the heel sole in use. The respective surfaces carry mating fasteners (such as hook-and-loop fasteners) arranged for releasable engagement. Both the fore and heel portions are constructed of a foam-padded tricot material. The amount of overlap of the respective surfaces is adjustable over a range of at least about ½ inch. One of the fore sole and heel sole carries a series of indicia (such as standard shoe size indications) corresponding to the amount of overlap, as adjusted, of the respective surfaces. The fore upper extends rearward to cover either side of an ankle of the wearer. 
     According to another aspect, the invention provides a useful combination of the above-described liner and a skate having a boot with a rigid shell and a wheeled chassis. The boot shell is adapted to enclose a wearer&#39;s foot and have overlapping toe and heel portions, the amount of overlap of the toe and heel portions being adjustable for accommodating feet of different sizes. The liner is disposed within the boot shell, but is removable from the shell for adjustment. 
     According to another aspect, the invention provides a method of adjusting the size of a skate, comprising the steps of: 
     (a) providing the above-described combination skate and liner; 
     (b) adjusting the overlap of the respective surfaces of the fore and heel portions of the liner to accommodate a wearer&#39;s foot; and 
     (c) adjusting the overlap of the toe and heel portions of the boot shell to accommodate the wearer&#39;s foot. 
     The method includes, in some embodiments and between steps (a) and (b), the step of (d) removing the liner from the skate boot shell and, after step (c), the step of (e) returning the adjusted liner to the boot shell. 
     The method includes, in some embodiments and between steps (a) and (b), the step of (d) removing the liner from the skate boot shell and, between steps (b) and (c), the step of (e) returning the adjusted liner to the boot shell. 
     The liner of the invention can provide an acceptable level of support and padding in multiple, easily selectable and adjustable size configurations. Besides enabling multiple users a more accommodating fit in a single pair of sport boots, the invention is also useful for adapting a single pair of boots to a single child through multiple shoe sizes. Instead of having to buy liners of different sizes, users may adjust a single liner as needed. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     FIGS. 1 and 2 are side views of an adjustable in-line skate, shown adjusted to two different sizes. 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a skate boot liner. 
     FIG. 4 is an expanded side elevation view of the liner, with fore and heel portions separated. 
     FIG. 5 is a top view of the heel portion. 
     FIG. 6 is a top view of the fore portion, with the tongue cut away to show the inner surface of the fore sole. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, adjustable in-line skate  10  has a wheeled chassis  12  and an adjustable boot  14 . Chassis  12  has a frame  26 , a plurality of wheels  28  which are individually mounted for rotation to the chassis frame, and a braking pad  27 . Boot  14  has a fore portion  15  for enclosing the toes and forefoot of the wearer, and a heel counter  18  for enclosing the wearer&#39;s heel and ankle. Pivotally attached to the heel counter at pivot point P p  is a tendon guard  19 , which carries an adjustable lever ratchet closure  30  (as known in the art) for tightening the tendon guard about the wearer&#39;s leg. Two additional closures  32  are located on the fore portion of the boot. Each of the fore portion  15 , the heel counter  18  and the tendon guard  19  are fashioned of molded, rigid plastic, similar in material to those of other modern sport boots. Although illustrated with respect to a sport boot for an in-line skate, the invention is not intended to be limited to in-line skates but is also applicable to other types of sport boots, such as ski or snowboard boots, for example. 
     The fore portion  15  is firmly and permanently attached to chassis frame  26  at a forward chassis plate  24 . Connection of the fore portion to the chassis may be by any means currently employed to attach an in-line skate boot to a wheeled chassis, including fasteners and adhesives. Heel counter  18 , however, is adapted to be fixed to the chassis frame at any of a number of positions along the toe-heel axis of the skate, and moved between such positions for adjusting the size of the boot. In any of its in-use positions, the heel counter and fore portion overlap, both at their soles and their side walls. As the heel counter and tendon guard are moved fore and aft, the amount of resulting overlap between the side walls and sole of the heel counter and fore portion varies, with the side walls and sole of the fore portion inboard of the side walls and sole of the heel counter in the embodiment shown. FIG. 2 shows the skate adjusted to a smaller size than as configured in FIG.  1 . 
     The fore/aft position of heel counter  18  is established by sliding two inwardly-facing tabs of the heel counter (not shown) along corresponding channels  36  in chassis frame  26  to align one of a series of fastener openings  38  with a corresponding lateral hole through the chassis frame (not shown) and inserting a removable fastener  22  (such as a socket-head cap screw) through the aligned fastener opening and the lateral hole. So attached, the heel counter (and connected tendon guard) are prevented from separating vertically from the chassis by the tabs engaging channel  36  and by fastener  22 . To further adjust the size of the skate boot, fastener  22  is removed, the heel counter is adjusted to align a different opening  38  with the lateral hole of the chassis, and the fastener is reinserted and tightened. Other details of a presently preferred skate boot and chassis may be found in my U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/017,420, filed Feb. 2, 1998, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth. 
     Referring to FIG. 3, a two-piece liner  40  is fashioned for use in an adjustable boot, such as the adjustable boot  14  of the above-described in-line skate  10 . Made of foam-padded tricot, stitched together to approximate the shape of the inside cavity of boot  14 , liner  40  provides an inner cushion for the boot that protects the wearer&#39;s foot and ankle from direct contact with rigid plastic surfaces of the boot and helps to provide a comfortable, snug fit of foot to boot. 
     Liner  40  consists of two separable components: a fore portion  42  and a heel portion  44  that are adapted to be secured to each other with various amounts of fore-aft overlap to fit different size feet. Fore portion  42  has a fore upper  46  and a fore sole  48 , stitched together about three sides of the perimeter of the fore sole to form a toe box  50 . A tongue  52  is stitched to the top of, and extends rearward from, the toe box, but is otherwise loose. Fore upper  46  also forms vertically extending ears  58 , one on each side of the liner. Heel portion  44  has a heel upper  54  and a heel sole  56 , stitched together about the sides of the perimeter of the heel sole to form a U-shaped cavity  57  (FIG. 5) for receiving and enclosing the wearer&#39;s heel. 
     The outer Elide surfaces of heel upper  54  extend inside of, and overlap, the inner side surfaces of fore upper ears  58 , and the fore sole  48  overlaps heel sole  56 . The amount of each of these overlaps is adjustable for accommodating feet of different sizes. Fore upper ears  58  preferably extend rearward far enough to cover, and provide additional padding for, the wearer&#39;s ankle. 
     Referring to FIG. 4, a strip of hook fastener material  60  (for hook-and-loop fastening, such as is sold under the VELCRO trademark) is stitched to the inner side surface of each of the fore upper ears  58 , and a corresponding patch of cooperating loop material  62  is stitched to the outer side surfaces of heel upper  56 . Hook material  60  and loop material  62  are each positioned such that there will be a significant area of engagement between the two materials with the liner in any of its intended configurations. In addition, a wide patch of hook material  64  is applied to the most rearward portion of the upper surface of fore sole  48 , and a corresponding patch of loop material  66  is fixed to the lower surface of heel sole  56 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the inner surface of the fore sole  46  of fore portion  42  is provided with overlap indicia  68  (FIG. 6) for indicating the size of the liner, corresponding to the amount of overlap between the fore and heel portions of the liner. Indicia  68  includes a series of parallel lines, as shown, with each line identified by a symbol which may indicate a standard shoe size. In the illustrated embodiment, for instance, the most rearward line (corresponding to the largest of the three indicated sizes) is labeled “ 2 #”, indicating a child&#39;s size  2 ; the middle line is labeled “ 1 #”, for child&#39;s size  1 ; and the most forward line is labeled “ 13 J”, for juniors′size  13 . In this particular embodiment, the distance, D, between the foremost and rearmost indicia lines is about ½ inch. The heel sole  56  of heel portion  44  has a forward edge  68  (FIG. 5) that lines up with any one of the parallel lines of the fore sole indicia to indicate the relative size of the adjusted liner. The indicia of the embodiment shown correspond to the three fastener openings  38  of the skate boot of FIG. 1, near which corresponding indicia may also be provided. It should be realized, however, that hook-and-loop fasteners allow engagement at any position across a given range, rather than only at discrete positions. Thus, liner  40  may be adjusted for a more comfortable fit, as necessary, between indicated sizes. 
     To adjust the size of skate  10  of FIG. 1, in combination with the liner  40  of FIG. 3, the wearer removes the liner from the boot and adjusts the overlap of toe and heel portions  42  and  44  of the liner to accommodate his or her foot. The size of the skate boot may be adjusted separately, either with or without the adjusted liner in place. It may be convenient under some circumstances to leave the adjusted liner  40  on one&#39;s foot and insert the foot and liner together into the boot shell before adjusting the size of the boot. 
     Other variations and embodiments will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon learning of this invention, and will be understood as falling within the scope of the following claims. For instance, the fore portion  42  of liner  40  may be permanently attached to fore portion  15  of the boot shell, such as by rivets attaching fore upper ears  58  to the side walls of boot shell fore portion  15 , with only the heel portion  44  of the liner removable from the boot shell. The hook-and-loop fasteners shown may be readily replaced with other types of fasteners, such as snaps or flexible sheet magnets. While it is presently preferred to releasably connect the fore and heel portions of the liner together, such as by the touch fasteners shown herein, it will be understood that such connection is not required in all circumstances and that such non-attaching, multiple-piece liners are contemplated as within the scope of the invention.